A World That's Entirely Our Own
by luna.ibelieveinmagic
Summary: "Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?" "Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?" A series of unrelated one-shots featuring my favourite characters in different situations / What if... AU. Prequels. Post-Hogwarts. Post-Epilogue. Etc / Requests are more than welcome!
1. Slughorn's Birthday Party

Hello beautiful people.

Well, this is the first time I write something about Harry Potter and I'm pretty intimidated but... here we go.

This is a series of unrelated one shots featuring my favourite couples in different situations. Some of them will be different from the books in some aspect, that's why before every story I'll write an Author Note to let you know what's the general context.

Your requests are more than welcome! If you would like me to write a certain kind of story just let me know with a review and I'll do as much as I can.

My favorite characters: Harry, Hermione, Dobby, Lily, James, Sirius. (Pairings: Harry+Hermione, James+Lily)

I hope you like my stories. I'll update as soon as I have another idea for a short story.

 **Disclaimer : The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**

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 **Slughorn's Birthday Party**

 _ **A.N.:** This story is set during the summer between Harry's third and fourth year at Hogwarts. In this one shot, Lily and James DIDN'T die the night Voldemort attacked Harry when he was a baby, however,Harry DID got the scar and Voldemort DID "die". Of course Sirius never went to Azkaban. Harry grew up with his family and has been a part of the wizarding world since he was born. The events that took place during Harry's first and second year at Hogwarts are the same (the only diference is that he had his parents waiting for him at home). During his third year, he and his friends spent a peaceful year but the lack of danger resulted on more free time. During said free time, Harry spent lots of time with Hermione which leads up to the summer in which this story takes place...  
I hope you like it._

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"Look, Harry! It's like the spell on Hogwart's Great Hall… Look at the stars! It's the most beautiful party I've ever been to!"

Harry Potter smiled while he followed his best friend who was running excitedly thought the hall. The party was indeed incredible. But Slughorn's parties were always the best so he was almost not surprised this year. He and his family always attended to Slughorn's birthday party, a big celebration that the former professor threw every year to celebrate his life with all those people who had shared it with him.

Sometimes, Harry doubted that someone could really _share_ his life with so many people but like many other attributes of the eccentric former professor, he decided not to pay attention to it. This year, his parents had suggested to bring someone with him to the party and it had taken him less than two seconds to decide who he was going to ask.

Hermione didn't have much experience with the wizarding world outside Hogwarts except for the occasional visit to the Borrow or Harry's home and she was delighted when Harry asked her to accompany him to a party. She hadn't expected such a big celebration and when Harry started pointing to some of the most influential personalities of the wizarding world in the party, she thought she was gonna explode with excitement. Even the Minister of Magic himself was there, talking with some of Slughorn's oldest friends.

But her excitement had only grown bigger when she started to concentrate on the many decorations of the hall. Magical decorations, of course. The result of the best charms Slughorn's former students could produce.

After almost two hours wandering around through the party, they had finally came to a stop when they found the enormous table crowded with dozens of gifts. Some things were wrapped in shining paper but others weren't. In that moment, Hermione found herself staring at seven tiny unicorns made of ice that were running around the table.

"My mother conjured them" Harry told her when he spotted Hermione admiring the little ice unicorns and she gasped when she saw that they could also fly for short distances.

"Your mother is brilliant…" she said with her eyes glowing "Can… can I touch them?"

"They are a little hard to catch…"

She sensed Harry's challenge in his voice and his teasing smile was all it took for her to decide that she would definitely catch one of the little unicorns. The task proved to be much more difficult than she thought and Harry refused to tell her how to catch them so he spent some minutes laughing at his friend's attempts to catch the beautiful creatures his mother had created that morning as a gift for her former professor.

"Fine… I can't" she admitted after some very frustrating ten minutes.

"Do you want my help now?" Harry teased his best friend with that slightly arrogant smile of his.

"No"

"C'mon, I can teach you"

"I said no, Potter"

"I was wondering where you were, Harry. But then I recognized Miss Granger's hair and of course I found you right next to her… Are you two lovebirds fighting already? "

Harry ignored the comment and jumped from his seat when he heard his godfather's voice. It was the first time he saw him in months, Sirius had been working for the order again and the only thing Harry had heard of him was that he was on another dangerous mission to find some ring he had heard Dumbledore and his father talking about.

"Sirius! You're back!" Harry almost jumped to hug his godfather and Sirius hugged him back with the same intensity.

"Careful there, Potter. Your girlfriend could get jealous"

"We're just friends, Sirius!" Hermione almost shouted, her cheeks starting to redden intensely.

"As you wish…" Sirius rolled his eyes and she calmed down, mostly because she hadn't seen Harry so happy in a long time and his sincere smile had a funny effect in her. Somehow it made her kind of forget everything else. "Do you have everything ready for your fourth year at Hogwarts?" he asked both of them but Hermione decided to ignore them, Sirius could be really annoying sometimes.

"We do, dad took me to get everything yesterday"

"I'm sorry I missed it, mate"

"Don't worry. Did you have any luck with... well... that ring?"

"Ring? How do you know I was looking for a ring?!" it only took Sirius one second to figure it out "Damn it Harry, have you stolen your dad's cloak again?"

"I didn't actually steal it..."

"Harry..." every trace of joking left Sirius' face but he seemed to change his mind just before opening his mouth again "We'll talk about it all later... With Lily and James present."

"What?! You are kidding, aren't you?"

"This is not a game, Harry. You shouldn't be eavesdropping on those kind of things"

"I know it's not a game!" he was tired of everybody trying to take care of him, he wanted to know what was going on in the real world. After all, he had been the one Voldemort had came after not only once but three times by now.

"This is not the place to talk about it, Harry" Sirius said resting a hand on his godson's shoulder with a look that meant a lot "For now just enjoy the party. Do you happen to know where are your parents?"

"Dad asked mum for a dance like an hour ago…" Harry pointed to the center of the hall where some couples were happily dancing. Right in the center of the hall, James Potter was holding his wife tightly against his chest, they had been dancing, as Harry had said, for more than an hour.

"Perfect, I have another pair of lovebirds to interrupt. See you both later" and just as fast as he came, Sirius was gone.

"You know he's right, don't you?" Hermione told him as soon as he went back to where she was, still watching the ice unicorns.

"I just want to know. I'm not a kid anymore... He's come after me three times by now. I'm the one who's in danger. I need to know what's going on..."

"I know, but they are your family, Harry. They're only looking after you"

"I know they are. And I love them for that… But I need to know what to expect, something tells me that Tom Riddle's diary was not his last shot. He's gonna come after me again…"

"Probably…" she sighed "But right now I agree with Sirius. We should enjoy the party while we can."

"You're right… you always are."

"Do you still want to show me how to catch one of these?" she asked him trying to take his mind off of things at least for a moment.

"You want my help now?" he teased her, a smile beginning to appear on his lips.

"Please..." she said swallowing her pride, anything to keep that smile of his in place.

"Here, look" he smiled while he took his wand out.

"Harry!" she scolded him "We're not allowed to use magic outside the school! The Minister himself is here…"

"Don't worry, it's just a wand lighting charm. I won't be expelled for that" he smiled again "Lumos" Harry whispered and the tip of his wand lit up "They are attracted to the light" he began to explain as he pointed his wand to the little ice unicorns he had watched Lily create earlier "Slughorn loves these kind of things, my mother always creates some curious creature for him on his birthday"

"Look, they are getting closer!"she whispered amazed "You definitely need to ask your mother to teach me how to do this"

"It's a simple transfiguration spell, I'm sure she'll be glad to teach you."

Hermione laughed when Harry pointed the tip of his wand closer to her and two of the little ice unicorns got even closer, flying around her and playing with her hair making her giggle.

In that moment, while Harry watched her laugh with those shimmering brown eyes of hers reflecting the light from his wand, he noticed again how truly beautiful his best friend was. It was not the first time he had noticed that simple fact, of course, but this time a warm feeling overwhelmed him when he realised that she was this happy because of him.

"Playing with mommy's toys Potter?"

Draco Malfoy's voice distracted Harry from his concentration and the light disappeared. The little ice unicorns turned almost instantly into water again, falling over Hermione's white dress robes.

"Get lost Malfoy" he told the young blonde wizard.

"And you?" he walked a step closer to Hermione "What is a filthy mudblood like you doing here? A nasty abomination like you should not even be allowed to enter a meeting of this kind. You should be finding a place to hide, Granger"

Harry's fist closed around his wand when he saw Hermione's eyes starting to shine with tears.

"Didn't you hear the rumors? The Dark Lord will come back, and he will finally erase your kind from the wizarding world. You should run while you still can, mudblood."

"That's enough, Malfoy!" Harry shouted and he pushed him away from his best friend ready to start a fight.

"Do you think I'm scared of you, Potter?" he challenged him taking a step closer you the green eyed boy.

"You should be, Malfoy" Harry pronounced that last word like the worst kind of insult and his eyes gleamed with anticipation while he took out his wand and Draco mirrored his actions.

He was just about to spit the words to jinx Malfoy, but the words died in his mouth when two different spell stroke Harry and Draco almost at the same time.

" _Expelliarmus_!" shouted James and Sirius, each pointing their wands to one of the young wizards and Harry's and Malfoy's wands flew out of their hands in that same instant.

Hermione, still trying to hold her tears, sighed in relief when she saw that the situation seemed to be under control. But the rivalry of the two young wizard was too strong and before anybody could stop them, Draco's fist collided against Harry's cheek. Harry's fist crashed against Malfoy's face producing a nasty sound and Malfoy didn't hold back on his response. Nobody knew exactly how, but for a few minutes Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter found themselves entangled in a nasty fist-fight.

"Harry!" shouted James trying to hold his son while Sirius pulled Draco away from him.

"Let me go!" growled Harry "He deserves it!"

"Blood traitors! That's what you all are!" shouted Malfoy struggling against Sirius' grip "And you, mudblood, someday you won't have the Potters to protect you and you'll get what you deserve!"

At this words, Harry struggled against his father's arms trying to reach Malfoy, but everything lost meaning when Harry's gaze met Hermione's. There was almost nothing in this world that Harry Potter hated more than watching his best friend cry.

"That's it, run! You can run all you want, but he will find you, Granger!"

"Stop it!" Sirius barked at him watching Hermione run away, her sobs leaving a trace behind her.

It only took one look for James to tell his wife what to do. She had been observing the incident from a short distance and didn't hesitate to follow his son's best friend. She knew the girl needed her support now, James and Sirius would deal with Harry.

"Take your hands off of my son, you bastard!" Narcissa's voice didn't do anything to calm the atmosphere and Sirius pushed the young boy into his cousin's arms.

"I can see that the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree" Sirius said glaring at Narcissa.

"Your father will hear about this, Draco" Narcissa scolded his son while they walked away ignoring the three wizards they left behind "You can't go around causing scenes like that!"

"What the bloody hell were you thinking, Harry James Potter?!" James asked his son finally letting him go.

"That git deserved it!" he almost shouted, still unable to control his anger "You heard him, he threatened her!"

"You have to admit the kid is right, Prongs…" Sirius tried to intervene in favour of his godson.

"Oh, shut it Sirius" he grabbed Harry before he could try to escape again "Where do you think you're going?"

"Where would I be going?!" this time, Harry yelled. He had never yelled at James before "I need to find her!"

"Harry, calm down…" Sirius held him off helping James to keep him still.

"Let me go! I need to find her!"

"Harry stop it!" James yelled unable to find another way to stop Harry's outburst.

"She'll be ok, Harry" Sirius assured him "Your mother went after her, she'll be ok"

Only after hearing those words, Harry finally started to calm down. He allowed himself to relax against his father who hugged him tightly. After all, James Potter understood better than anybody else what it was like when the girl you loved suffered just because was a muggle born.

"Why?" Harry asked after a moment, he was calmer now, but his voice was still poisoned with rage ""Why would anybody want to hurt someone like Hermione? She's the kindest person I've ever met, she's brilliant, she's the bloody brightest witch of our generation! Why would somebody want to hurt her?"

"Just friends huh?" Sirius teased unable to resist.

"Shut it, Padfoot" both Potters said at the same time, glaring at him.

"Look, Harry…" James sighed "It's not a matter of why do they think this way… They're just… wicked people who enjoy to cause pain"

"What if I can't protect her? What if someone wants to hurt her and…"

"Calm down, nobody will slay your princess, dragon"

"Enough! I told you she's just my best friend!" Harry barked at his godfather.

"He knows… He's just teasing you" James assured him trying to hide his smile "It doesn't matter if she's your friend or something else, the matter is that you care for her. She'll be ok. She has you, and you have all of us. You're both going to be safe"

"Thanks, dad…" Harry's lips curved forming a small smile.

"Now let's be honest… That git deserved it" Sirius smiled.

"Ok, you're right. He did…" James laughed "But don't tell your mother I said that"

"I won't" this time, Harry smiled a real smile that soon faded at the thought of Hermione's absence. "Where…"

"They're talking outside. Do you want us to go find her?"

"Yes… I think she…" he blushed a little "I think she might want me to be there"

"Of course she does…" Sirius responded with a mischievous tone while he followed James and Harry to find their girls.

Lily Potter raised her look when she felt them coming closer. She had been talking with Hermione for some minutes now and, knowing her son, she had been wondering how much longer it would take him to appear.

"You see? I told you they would get him to calm down" Lily told Hermione when she saw his son's quite calmed expression.

"I… um…." Harry mumbled incapable to find anything good enough to say now that he was in front of his best friend.

Lily looked at James for a moment and he nodded. They both agreed to give his son and Hermione some space. However, Malfoy's threat had been quite unsettling for both of them too, so they would keep an eye on them from a safe distance.

"I hate when you two do that eye thing… I feel completely left out" Sirius complained.

"We'll go find something to drink. If you want to go home, just let us know…" James told his son slightly pushing him towards his best friend whose gaze was fixed on the grass.

"It was not the right way to do it, but I'm proud that you stood up for your friend… You did the wrong thing for the right reasons…" Lily smiled at his son before starting to walk away from the pair of young wizards followed by James and Sirius.

"Hi…" Harry whispered taking a seat next to Hermione.

"Hi…" she whispered back.

"Are you ok?" he asked carefully.

"I guess…" she lifted her gaze to meet his green eyes and Harry felt something piercing into his heart when he saw the tears in her eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

"You're sorry?" she asked confused "Why?"

"You wouldn't have had to go through all that if I hadn't asked you to come with me to the party… I'm sorry" he expanded.

"You're sorry that you asked me to come here with you?" she inquired again, her brown eyes shining with new tears, this time for a very different reason.

"No! Well… I should be… I mean…"

"I get it…" she gave him a small smile "You don't have to be sorry… I mean… if that's the only reason why you're sorry you have invited me" she blushed slightly "It was not your fault… you defended me"

"It was nothing…"

They remained silent for a few minutes after those words. Somehow, Hermione felt better now that he was next to her. She always felt better when he was around.

"Thank you for inviting me…" she finally spoke again after a long pause "I don't know about you, but I'm not sorry that you did"

"Not at all?" Harry smiled, feeling less guilty.

"No, being with you here tonight was worth it…"

"I'm not going to let anybody hurt you like that again…" he wanted to promise, but she interrupted.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Harry" she told him softly "Dark times are coming, everybody knows that… and people like me…"

"We'll protect you" he interrupted her this time "My parents, Sirius, Remus… They can be your family too… if you want to…" he smiled "We'll protect you"

This time, Hermione's face lit up when she smiled and instead of answering with words, she threw her arms around Harry's neck and hugged him.

"Thank you, Harry…" she whispered against his chest and he smiled hugging her back.

A few feet away, Lily Potter smiled watching them and she gave a small squeeze to her husband's hand.

"So… what do you think?" Sirius smiled "I bet they'll be together before they finish their fourth year"

"He's just a little boy!" Lily said. She had been having some trouble watching her baby grow up so fast.

"I bet he'll kiss her around Christmas" James decided after thinking about it for a little while.

"James!" Lily complained.

"What? Now you're gonna tell me that you believe him when he says she's just his best friend?" he laughed.

"Fine…" she sighed "I bet she'll be the one to kiss him first"


	2. Godric's Hollow and The Forest of Dean

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.:**_ _This story starts right after Chapter 16 of Deathly Hallows ends. i.e. right after Ron leaves Harry and Hermione during the horcrux search. This is my opinion about how some of the moments Harry and Hermione shared together would have developed._

 _I extracted some pieces of the book and added them to the story (they are highlighted in bold)._

 _I hope you enjoy it this one._

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 ** _"Godric's Hollow and The Forest of Dean"_**

 **Hermione returned, her sopping hair plastered to her face.**

" **He's g-g-gone! Disapparated!"**

 **She threw herself into a chair, curled up, and started to cry.**

 **Harry felt dazed. He stooped, picked up the Horcrux, and placed it around his own neck. He dragged blankets off Ron's bunk and threw them over Hermione.**

She didn't answer but Harry saw her shifting her position a little so that the blankets would shield her from the cold.

He didn't know why, but listening to her sobbing made something boil with fury inside him. Ron had left him and that fact hurt him deeply but the fact that he had also left _her_ behind… He wanted nothing more than to release his rage against Ron and the first target ended up being the small table next to Hermione's chair. Everything that had been there before flew across the tent when Harry kicked it.

"Harry, don't…" Hermione mumbled lifting her eyes to meet his.

"You should've gone with him!" he roared turning his back on her

"What?!" she asked absolutely surprised.

"Look at you, you're miserable without him…"

"Harry, I'm not leaving you…" she said. She stood up and took some steps towards him until she was able to touch his shoulder with a soft hand.

"You should" he snapped and walked away from her "He's right, you should've gone with him".

"Take it off!" she almost yelled at him. She was still crying, all she wanted was to curl up in a ball and disappear, the last thing she needed was a fight with Harry. No. She definitely wouldn't be able to tolerate that.

He completely ignored her so she walked towards him again and this time she didn't stop until she was standing right in front of him. For a moment, brown eyes met green. Her eyes we red and puffy, the tears staning her clean complection. Harry felt that he could kill someone just to take away the tears in her eyes. He hated it when she cried.

"Please…" she whispered and she took a step closer to take the locket off of his neck herself.

The moment she left the horcrux fall next to them, Harry felt a small weight lifting from his chest and his concern for his friend quickly overshadowed his rage.

"I'm sorry" he said almost automatically.

But Hermione didn't listen. When she saw the warm look of concern in her best friend's eyes, she couldn't hold it anymore and she collapsed in tears against his chest.

"He's really gone…" she cried while Harry held her as tight as he could, feeling absolutely useless because there was nothing he could say to make her feel better.

"He is…" he confirmed in a whisper and felt her shaking with the tears against him.

He held her until she had no more tears to cry. Her sobs eventually faded into the pounding of the rain and after hours of tears, she finally fell asleep in Harry's arms. When he was sure that she would not wake up again, he laid her on her bed and covered her body with some extra blankets. Harry spent that night sitting on a chair next to her bed, watching her sleep with the excuse that one of them should be up while the other slept to keep watch.

* * *

 **They did not discuss Ron at all over the next few days. Harry was determined never to mention his name again and Hermione seemed to know that it was no use forcing the issue, although sometimes at night when she thought he was sleeping, he would hear her crying.**

There was nothing in the world Harry wanted more than to comfort her when she cried. But he knew he couldn't. He had spent the last years trying to deny himself what he felt for her and climbing into her bed to hold her when she cried would certainly mean throwing away all of his efforts.

No. He wasn't strong enough to comfort her as a friend and although Ron had seriously wronged them, Harry remained loyal to his best friend. He knew that if he approached Hermione to soothe her pain when she cried in the middle of the night, he wouldn't be able to keep those long ago hidden feelings for her out of the way.

He had always cared for her, she was his best friend, his partner, and right now, she was his whole world. He couldn't imagine what it could be like to lose her… but he couldn't go any closer, not if he wanted to remain faithful to the promise he had made to himself when he learned about Ron's feelings for her. His would love for her would be infinite, but he would force himself to love her as nothing more than a sister. And to keep that promise, he needed to keep his distance in order to convince himself that he could ignore the way he really felt about her.

* * *

" **Harry, they're here . . . right here."**

 **And he knew by her tone that it was his mother and father this time: He moved toward her, feeling as if something heavy were pressing on his chest, the same sensation he had had right after Dumbledore had died, a grief that had actually weighed on his heart and lungs.**

 **[...]**

 **JAMES POTTER - LILY POTTER**

 **BORN 27 MARCH 1960 - BORN 30 JANUARY 1960**

 **DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981 - DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981**

 _ **The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.**_

 **Harry read the words slowly, as though he would have only one chance to take in their meaning, and he read the last of them aloud.**

"' **The last enemy that shall be defeated is death'..." A horrible thought came to him, and with a kind of panic. "Isn't that a Death Eater idea? Why is that there?"**

" **It doesn't mean defeating death in the way the Death Eaters mean it, Harry," said Hermione, her voice gentle. "It means… you know… living beyond death. Living after death."**

 **But they were not living, thought Harry. They were gone. The empty words could not disguise the fact that his parents' moldering remains lay beneath snow and stone, indifferent, unknowing.**

 **And tears came before he could stop them, boiling hot then instantly freezing on his face, and what was the point in wiping them off or pretending? He let them fall, his lips pressed hard together, looking down at the thick snow hiding from his eyes the place where the last of Lily and James lay, bones now, surely, or dust, not knowing or caring that their living son stood so near, his heart still beating, alive because of their sacrifice and close to wishing, at this moment, that he was sleeping under the snow with them.**

Hermione felt something breaking inside her when she saw the tears falling silently from Harry's eyes. Watching him cry wasn't something she was used to. Before she could stop them, she felt her own tears starting to fall down her face . She cried for James and Lily, because their deaths had been a heartrending tragedy, they had only been a few years older than them when their lives had been cruelly stolen from them… they had had their whole life ahead them… and it had been taken away. But the real reason for her tears was Harry.

For a moment, when she saw him crying silently in front of his parents' grave, she thought that maybe she shouldn't have given up on him after fifth year. She had never met somebody who needed to be loved as much as Harry did and yet she hadn't been strong enough to fight for him. Hermione could face all kinds of dangers, but she hadn't been able to fight against Harry's walls and her own insecurities. She had accepted the fact that he would never think about her that way and had taken the easy path trying to hide her feelings for him. In that moment, she regretted her decision. Her old and almost forgotten romantic feelings for him returned with the strength of a hurricane. Right then, she wanted to hold him, and kiss him and show him that he was worthy of a love as strong as his parents' had been.

But she had made her choice. Hermione would be whatever he needed her to be but she wouldn't act on her old feelings for him. And even if she decided that she would try to fight for him now, she knew that he didn't feel for her the same way she felt for him deep inside the hidden corners of her heart.

She couldn't give him all her love, but she still had that ability to read his thoughts so, when she saw his guilty expression she deciphered it in a second and before he could say anything she conjured a wreath of Christmas roses and watched him lay it on his parents' grave while she wipped her own tears.

When he stood up and his green eyes met hers, Hermione understood his silent plea. He needed to get out of that place, he couldn't stand the pain of being there anymore. She nodded and when he put his arm around her shoulders, Hermione put hers around Harry's waist, holding him as tightly as she dared and trying to make him feel how deeply she cared for him with that simple gesture.

They both walked away through the snow and Harry wipped off the last tears. He thought about Hermione in silence, about how good it felt to have a woman in his arms and to have her arms wrapped around him, about how thankful he felt to have her by his side and to had had her by his side for all those years. And he thought about his mother and his father and the bond of love they had shared. For the first time in his life, he realised that he wanted that kind of love for himself, he wanted to be someone's father, he wanted a family and an unbreakable bond of love with a woman who would be by his side forever. And before he could stop his thoughts, his arms wrapped even tightly around Hermione's body and he knew, if he hadn't known since the first time he had laid eyes on her, that she was the woman with whom he wanted to share the future his parents couldn't have; even when he knew that he could never have her.

* * *

Hermione pressed the cool damp washcloth against Harry's forehead for the umptheenth time while he struggled in his sleep. She had long ago given up on her useless attempts at waking him up and all she could do was try to keep his fever controlled.

"Shh…" she shooted him placing one hand on his cheek when she felt him tense his whole body again. His face tensed showing an expression of pain and he moaned while a few tears rolled down his sweaty face.

"Stand aside!" he cried completely consumed by the nightmare.

"Shh… it's ok" she tried to calm him again and leaned closer to him until her head was resting on his chest, after a few hours she had discovered that the contact seemed to help him.

He started to shake violently again and Hermione held him even tighter silently praying that he would wake up soon. She was going to lose her mind if he didn't open his eyes soon. Watching him suffer in his sleep for hours had almost been worse than watching him fall unconscious next to her after they had jumped out of the window of Bathilda Bagshot's house.

The tears had long ago dried on her cheeks while she tried to take care of him the best way she could. But she was about to go mad, she couldn't stand his cries of pain any more, she just couldn't watch him suffer like that and wait.

"Please… wake up…" she pleaded again, new tears falling down her cheeks "Wake up Harry…" Hermione whispered unable to produce a louder sound. She couldn't take it anymore… she'd never been so worried in her whole life.

Harry's body arched in pain once more while the images on his mind held him prisoner.

 _ **"Avada Kedavra!"**_

 _ **And then he broke. He was nothing, nothing but pain and terror, and he must hide himself, not here in the rubble of the ruined house, where the child was trapped screaming, but far away ... far away ... "No," he moaned. The snake rustled on the filthy, cluttered floor, and he had killed the boy, and yet he was the boy ...**_

 **"Harry, it's okay, wake up, wake up!"**

 **He was Harry… Harry, not Voldemort… and the thing that was rustling was not a snake…**

 **He opened his eyes.**

 **"Harry," Hermione whispered,** tears of relief dancing around her eyes **. "Do you feel all - all right?"**

 **"Yes," he lied.**

 **He was in the tent, lying on one of the lower bunks beneath a heap of blankets. He could tell that it was almost dawn by the stillness and quality of the cold, flat light beyond the canvas ceiling. He was drenched in sweat; he could feel it on the sheets and blankets.**

 **"We got away…"**

"Yes…" Hermione assured him and she couldn't stop herself from touching his face "We're alright, you're alright" she whispered to herself and Harry closed his eyes at the contact, he still felt confused and a little numb, pain crossing his whole body.

Before he could ask her anything, Harry felt his best friend throw herself into his chest and hug him. Suddenly she was crying against his chest and Harry didn't need to understand anything to wrap his weak arms around her.

"Why are you crying?" he asked confused, holding her against his body.

"You scared me" she mumbled letting the fear she had been fighting to keep in check while he had been unconscious **"You've been shouting and moaning and…"** she couldn't finish.

"I'm fine" he promised her and she nodded against his chest, still hugging him as tightly as she could "We're safe"

Harry's memory was a blur, he wanted to ask her what had happened, but the relief of having her safely in his arms and being alone with her in the tent that had became their refuge for the last months seemed more important and he remained silent, revelling in the feel of her body against his. Having her in his arms, he felt glad to have cheated death again.

They held each other for some long minutes until Hermione regained control over herself and finally pulled away, wiping the last tears off of her face.

"I'm sorry…" she said slightly ashamed "You've been like that for hours… I didn't know… I thought…" she struggled to finish her sentences, the relief of having him back still getting the best of her.

"You saved me…" he said. It wasn't a question, he knew he should be dead.

Hermione nodded slowly, her eyes shining when they met his.

"What happened to me, why were you so worried?" he asked again.

 **"I couldn't get the Horcrux off you," Hermione said, and he knew she wanted to change the subject. "It was stuck, stuck to your chest. You've got a mark; I'm sorry, I had to use a Severing Charm to get it away. The snake hit you too, but I've cleaned the wound and put some dittany on it ..."**

 **He pulled the sweaty T-shirt he was wearing away from himself and looked down. There was a scarlet oval over his heart where the locket had burned him. He could also see the half healed puncture marks to his forearm.**

Hermione swallowed hard at the sight of his bare chest, after months living together in a tent, she had seen him with little clothes many times, but the sight still had a strong effect over her.

 **"What happened, Harry? What happened when she took you upstairs? Was the snake hiding somewhere?"** this time it was her turn to ask and she desperately needed to distract herself from Harry's bare chest, asking him what had happened seemed to be the best way to focus on something else.

"I don't kn…" but before he could finish the words, the images hit him.

The first thing that came back to his memory was the snake coming out of Bathilda's dead body. He remembered the pain, such a strong pain that he felt he had died. He remembered the screams, the fear. He remembered being Voldemort, his connection with the dark wizard stronger than ever. And then it all came back. He saw it all again from Voldemort's eyes. He and his father playing together in their small house at Godric's Hollow, Lily talking to them… the last moment he shared with his parents before Voldemort broke into their home... His parent's vioces burnt in his memory.

 _ **"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"**_

 _ **"Avada Kedavra!"**_

 _ **"Not Harry! Please… have mercy… have mercy… Not Harry! Not Harry! Please. I'll do anything…"**_

 _ **"Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"**_

 _ **"Avada Kedavra!"**_

"Harry!" Hermione called worried when she saw his lost gaze, tears starting to lick silently from his eyes.

"He killed them" he whispered looking at her.

"What?"

"I… I saw him… I saw the moment he killed them" he confessed "My father told my mother to run with me, he killed him without even flinching" he told her with a lump in his throat.

"Oh, Harry… I'm so sorry…"

"My mother…" he closed his eyes in pain "I can't get her voice out of my head. Pleading him to kill her instead of me…"

She could feel his pain like if it was her own and she didn't hesitate before approaching her best friend.

Harry allowed her to wrap her arms around him but for a long moment, but he didn't return the hug. Her mother's cries repeating on his head like the worst nightmare.

"He laughed before he killed my father" Harry whispered, his voice nothing more than a cracking soft sound filled with hate.

"I'm sorry" Hermione told him again, this time she wouldn't let him go. She clinged to him hoping that somehow her love for him would be enough to shoote his pain.

And after some minutes, he finally hugged her back. He held held on to her and soon the silent tears were replaced by a stronger kind of cry.

Hermione held him as close as she could, her hands making contact with the bare skin of his back and they remained tangled in that embrace for what felt like an infinite moment. When his tears finally stopped falling, he held her even tighter and he managed to find her eyes. Harry's shining green eyes met Hermione's and they lost themselves in each other's gaze for a moment.

They both felt something shifting between them, they had been nearly killed again and yet they had survived. Sharing things like that isn't something one can experience without consequences.

"We're alive" she whispered lost in the magic of the moment.

Having witnessed death more than once, Harry understood what she ment with those words. They were still alive against all odds, and in that moment, it felt like something to be thankful for.

"We're alive" he echoed, his hand went to Hermione's face on her own will and he found himself wiping her tears away.

She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Only when she opened her eyes again, Harry realised how close they were.

"I love you" the words rolled off her tongue without permission, but once she'd said them, she didn't try to take them back.

For a second, he was shocked. Then he wondered what she had meant. She loved him… but did she love him as a brother, or as a man?

"Harry…" she called him, her hands coming up to hold his face "I… love… _you_ " she said the words again, her Gryffindor courage speaking for her.

Something in her words didn't leave room for questions this time and in spite of all the terrible things that were happening around them, Harry felt a smile creeping its way into his face. Hermione mirrored his expression almost instantly and they we both suddenly overwhelmed by a feeling they had almost forgotten.

Bliss.

For the first time in a long time, they felt truly glad to be alive.

"You should say…" Hermione started to speak but he interrupted her.

"Shh" he whispered looking deeply into her eyes "Close your eyes"

Captivated by the intensity of Harry's green eyes and completely hypnotized by the moment, she did as he said and her eyes fell closed.

Harry took a second to watch her, her flawless complexion, the shadows under her eyes, her cheeks stained with tears… she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. They were a mess, yet she was perfect for him.

"I love you" he whispered so softly that Hermione almost thought she had imagined it, but his actions soon confirmed the meaning of his whispered words.

Hermione felt something she had thought she'd never feel: Harry's lips on her face, kissing away every trace of tears before finally reaching his final destination. Their lips met for the first time in the softest of kisses. A few seconds that felt like an eternity.

"Everything's going to change…" Hermione whispered against Harry's lips, her eyes still closed, her lips still brushing against his when she spoke.

Harry smiled, a wide charming grin, and pulled her closer. This time, his lips crashed against hers unleashing the feelings he had been hiding for so long. Hermione kissed him back with equal fervor and they fell back into the small bed, the horrors of the war around them absolutely eclipsed for the first time in too long.

 _Everything's going to change._

Hermione's words echoed in their minds and they smiled against each other's lips between kisses. Nothing had ever felt so right.


	3. Her Favourite Pair of Potters

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.

A.N.: This story is a little longer than the last two. It takes place a few years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione never kissed or had any kind of romantic relationship. This story is about how Harry and Hermione grow closer and closer after the birth of Harry's first son (James) and how their relationship changes in time. There are a few time jumps in the story, James' age should give you a hint on the time frame in each part of the story.

I worked really really hard on this one and I'd love to see what you think about it, please leave a review if you liked it. (remember that your requests are more than welcome!)

* * *

Her Favourite Pair of Potters

Things had been crazy for the last few years… after the war everybody spent a long time trying to cope with the loss of so many loved ones. Recovering from the chaos produced by Voldemort and his followers had not been an easy task, but finally everything seemed to be falling into place.

That night, a twenty two year old Hermione Granger walked into St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries with her whole body shaking and a thousand mixed emotions fighting inside of her. She couldn't believe it when Harry had owled her almost nine months ago. The young witch had been organizing her books in her new bookshelf at her new room in Hogwarts. McGonagall had made her an offer to teach History of Magic at the school and she had been delighted to accept. In the middle of that moment, Harry's new owl had interrupted her with a letter that shook her entire reality. Harry had some big news: he was going to be a father.

The next nine months had come and gone in a blur. She had been consumed by her new job, absolutely disconnected from the world outside of Hogwarts and Harry had been absolutely excited about the baby.

And then there she was… With her hands shaking and holding a small box tightly in her right hand, Hermione knocked the door of the room where Harry had told her they would be.

With a flick of his wand, Harry opened the door and she smiled as soon as her eyes made contact with hers.

"Hello…" she whispered walking slowly inside.

The only light in the room came from some blue flames that were burning in a corner. Hermione took a moment to analyze the small room. In the right corner, someone seemed to be sleeping on a hospital bed, the witch quickly assumed that said "someone" was Ginny, she must had been exhausted. The place was filled with presents and in the opposite corner, Harry was sitting on a medium sized couch. A small bundle of blankets in his arms and the most tired yet joyful expression coloring his face.

"Hermione…" his smile grew even shinier. "You're here"

"I couldn't miss it" she smiled a weak smile, one that tried to hide the fact that her heart broke a little more at the sight of Harry holding Ginny's baby.

"Hi" she whispered and she closed the door carefully before walking towards him.

"Come, I want you to meet someone" Hermione had never seen him smile like that in her entire life, she walked slowly and sat next to him, her whole body shook when she saw the small creature in his arms.

"He's... so small" she whispered amazed.

"Hermione, meet James Potter" he said proudly while he put some the blankets away so that his best friend could get a closer view of his son.

"Harry, he's beautiful" she said completely delighted by the baby's beauty.

James moved slightly and suddenly his small eyes fluttered open.

"He's got your eyes..." she said surprised.

"Do you think so?"

She took a closer look. Those captivating green eyes hadn't been the only thing James had inherited from his dad, he also had his nose and the shape of his face seemed to match Harry's perfectly. On top of that, the boy's head was covered by a wild mass of messy black hair.

Of course he looked like him… the resemblance was incredible.

"Yes... he looks exactly like you, Harry"

"Yeah... I think he does." Harry smiled even more proudly.

Their entire conversation was held in a whispering tone. Harry didn't want to speak louder part because Ginny was sleeping and most of all because he didn't want to scare his son. Hermione was a completely different story, she thought she couldn't manage to speak louder without her voice breaking, so she decided to keep her tone soft.

"Hi James..." she smiled leaning closer to the baby "What a beautiful little gentleman you are..."

Even though the kid was the symbol of Harry and Ginny's love and the biggest confirmation of the fact that she would never have the chance to be with Harry, the small baby seemed to have charmed her in less than a minute. It appeared that those glimmering green eyes and that dark messy hair weren't the only things the small baby had gotten from his father. He seemed to have inherited the same incredible ability to charm her without even trying. Just like his dad had done for years.

"I'm sorry that it had to be like this..." Harry's voice turned serious for a moment. "You should have been here with me from earlier... I missed you"

Hermione smiled without looking up, too amazed by James's little face to pay attention to anything else.

"It's ok..." she said shrugging "Ginny didn't want me here, it was her son's birth after all..."

"But you are my friend. I wanted you to be here..."

"I'm here now" she looked up to meet his eyes "How are you?"

"Tired, happy, scared..." Harry admitted while both of them watched the baby, whose eyes were slowly closing again.

"Scared? You've faced and defeated the most powerful dark wizard of all ages and this cute little man scares you?" she joked.

"He doesn't scare me... it's... it's just the idea of being someone's father. There are so many things that I could screw up..."

"But you won't" Hermione assured him.

"How can you be so sure?" He asked, his eyes darkening a little "After all, I've never met my dad... and... Sirius died and, well... I can't really say that I know that much of how a normal family should work. I've never had anyone who really cared about me as a father should do... I'm terrified of being bad at it" he confessed at the end.

"Harry..." Hermione whispered looking deeply into his eyes, touched by the truth in his words "Sometimes I'm surprised that you can still be so thick... I've never met anyone more capable of love than you are, Harry Potter" she made sure that his eyes were locked with hers before saying her next words "You're going to be a great father, Harry. Don't even doubt it for a second."

Harry smiled at her again. She could see the effect her words had in him, he trusted her, he believed in her... if she said he would be a good father, probably she was right. After all, she was always right.

"Thank you, Hermione" he gave her warm smile "Do you really think that?"

"Of course I do…" she reassured "So… how does it feel?"

"It's the weirdest thing on earth. It's crazy if you think about it… I mean… I made him"

"Sure you did, with those eyes and that hair there's no possible way to doubt it" she teased before asking another question "Did Ron make it?"

"No, he couldn't come. He had a quidditch match tonight, he couldn't miss it."

"It doesn't really surprise me" she admitted "He's living his dream after all"

Harry nodded in agreement, Ron had been playing for the Chudley Cannons for an entire year, and after ages of bad luck, the new team had started winning a few matches and they were actually doing fine. Ron had never been so happy, he loved all the attention he was getting and although they didn't understand it, Harry and Hermione respected his happiness.

"What about Sirius?" Hermione asked after a few seconds of silence.

"What?"

"You said you were going to name your son James Sirius in one of your letters. You were pretty excited about it" she reminded him.

"Oh… Well… Ginny didn't like it."

"What? Why?" it was her time to ask.

"She says that half of the wizarding world still consider Sirius a criminal and that she didn't want that the first thought when someone read her son's name on the Daily Prophet was linked to someone with such a bad reputation." he confessed sadly.

"Are you kidding?" Hermione asked absolutely taken aback and she spoke again when he nodded "Harry that's rubbish! Who cares about what the people think when they read the paper?"

"Apparently she does…" he said and Hermione didn't miss the sad expression that darkened his eyes for a moment.

Hermione bit her own tongue to avoid saying something she would probably regret later. How could Ginny act like that? What was more important? The people's opinions or Harry's feelings? But before she could say anything, an unfamiliar sound interrupted their conversation. The small baby had woken up again, but this time he was crying.

Harry looked at his best friend with a terrified expression on his face and Hermione almost laughed.

"You'll have to get used to him crying" she told him playfully "I think this is the best moment to show him my gift"

Without saying anything else, Hermione took out her wand and tapped the small red box she had been holding since she got to the hospital.

"Here, look James" she told the baby as a golden glow started to come out from the small enchanted box.

The golden glow started to change its shape and soon it transformed into a sparkling golden baby mobile that floated in front of them, the light caught the baby's attention as soon as he saw it and his cries stopped almost automatically. A soft melody that came from the enchanted mobile spread around them and the small objects hanging from it started to take shape and move around almost like if they were dancing to the soft melody.

"Hermione, this is brilliant" Harry smiled watching her magical creation.

Seven magical items were hanging from the mobile surrounded by dozens of tiny lights that looked exactly like real stars. It took Harry a few moments to realize what the items actually were.

The first one was a young boy flying around on a broomstick, he was amazed when he discovered that he was actually a miniature version of himself flying on his firebolt during his third year at Hogwarts. Another was an owl, but it wasn't just an owl… Hedwig was flying in small circles around the mobile too. The next one was even more personal, a stag and a doe running playfully next to each other, the shining pair of deer seemed to be smiling at him. Harry was surprised to discover that the next figure was a small house elf and when he took a closer look he found himself staring at a miniature clone of his favourite elf. Dobby was dancing around on the mobile, wearing a pair of socks on his hands. Another one of the hanging objects was a flying golden snitch followed by a lion-like cat that Harry easily recognized as Hermione's old pet. All the objects moved in perfect rhythm with the soft music that floated in the air around them.

The final object was the most significative for both of them, a pair of young wizards whose laughs joined the delicate melody were riding a flying hippogriff. Buckbeak was flying in circles following the sound of the music with the tiny figures of Hermione and Harry laughing together on their way to save Sirius. They had been so young at that time…

A big smile spread across Hermione's face when she saw both of the Potter boys watching her magical mobile with amazed eyes. James crying had stopped completely by that time.

"The song…" Harry whispered when he recognized the soft melody "It's the one that played on the radio that night in the tent isn't it?" he asked her.

"I didn't think you would remember it…" it was her turn to be surprised.

"I haven't listened to it since that night" he smiled watching the glowing figures dance slowly in circles "Hermione, this is the most beautiful piece of magic I've ever seen" he told her still stunned by the beauty of her gift.

"Thank you…" she smiled watching the baby who seemed to be hypnotized by the shining figures.

"Would you like to hold him?" Harry asked when he saw her looking at his baby with those shining brown eyes of hers.

"Me?"

"Yes, you" he laughed softly.

"Yes… yes of course I would"

Harry placed his son carefully in Hermione's arms. She was surprised at how right it felt to have Harry's son in her arms and her eyes started to glimmer with tears.

A warm feeling took place on Harry's heart at the sight of Hermione holding his baby and they remained silent for some minutes, watching baby James who couldn't get his eyes off of his new gift.

But their peaceful moment was soon interrupted when they heard the sound of someone moving on the bed. Ginny was waking up and Hermione didn't need Harry's words to know that the younger witch wouldn't want to see her there.

"I should go" she said looking sadly at Harry.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's ok" she smiled and she leaned to kiss the baby's head before handing him back to Harry "Congratulations, Harry. He's perfect"

* * *

Dear Hermione:

Something amazing happened today.  
James laughed for the first time. Can you believe it? I've never heard such a beautiful sound.  
It happened this morning, when I accidentally shot an Engorgement Charm at one of the figures on the mobile. Suddenly sparkling gold versions of you and me were riding a golden dog-sized Buckbeak around James's room. I thought he would be scared, but he laughed! He started laughing and clapping his hands until I finally managed to transform the figure back into its old size.  
Of course, the first thing Ginny did was snap a picture and send it by owl to Rita Skeeter. You'd be amazed at how many pictures of James had appeared in the Daily Prophet during this three months… I'm not too happy about that, but we can talk about that the next time you come to visit. I took my own pictures too and I'm sending one to you with this letter.  
How about you? How is everything going in Hogwarts? I received a letter from McGonagall last week, she asked me to reconsider her offer to become the DADA teacher next year… I'd certainly love that and I feel really honoured to be considered for the job but you know I can't leave James. Ginny is back with the Holyhead Harpies this season and she won't be spending much time with us at home… So I think the answer will be no, at least for a couple of years…  
As I'm sure you've already noticed, I sent a gift along with this letter and the photograph. Probably you're wondering why would I give you mirror? Well… it's not just a mirror… The last time I went to Sirius' old room I found a notebook filled with spells and projects he and my dad had created during their years at Hogwarts. I managed to create a pair of enchanted mirrors like the ones they had. It would be nice to be able to talk to each other whenever we want, don't you think? To activate it you have to use the same words we used with The Marauder's map and then call for my name.  
I have to leave now, I think James woke up and you know he doesn't like to be left alone (ok, maybe I don't like to leave him alone).

I hope to hear about you soon.

Love,

Harry.

Hermione Granger smiled when she finished reading Harry's last letter. She couldn't believe that the man was still worried about being a bad father… He was the best father she had known, and that included her own.

James's picture was even cuter than she had imagined while reading the letter. Sometimes it was difficult to believe how beautiful that baby was… She couldn't help feeling a little disappointed when she read that he wouldn't be accepting McGonagall's offer to be the DADA teacher but she wasn't surprised.

She carefully put Harry's letter in a box where she saved every letter he had ever sent her and conjured a small golden picture frame around James's photograph. The picture joined a very selective collection she had on her nightstand.

The young witch's eyes traveled from the pile of essays she had to check to the shining mirror Harry had sent her and it didn't take her much time to make her decision.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" she whispered to the mirror and a silvery glow spread across the glass "Harry Potter" she added recalling Harry's instructions.

A short while after that, Harry's face appeared in the mirror and she smiled surprised by the magic he had created.

"Hermione" he smiled "I thought you'd never call" he joked "We were waiting for you"

"Hi, Harry"

"How are you? Did you get my letter?"

"Of course I did. Where do you think I got this mirror from?" she laughed "James's picture has already found its place on my night table, he's the most perfect baby I've ever seen. Where is he now?"

"Right here" Harry moved the mirror so that she could see the small baby resting on his father's lap.

"Hello James" she smiled "I missed you…" the baby looked at her face in the mirror with a slightly confused expression for a few seconds, but when Hermione smiled at him again, he recognized her and a wide grin spread through his face "I'm happy to see you too…"

"He likes you" Harry smiled watching his son giggling and trying to touch the witch's face though the mirror.

"I think he does" Hermione smiled excitedly "Probably he likes me as much as I like him…"

For a couple of minutes, Harry found himself as nothing more than an outsider looker while Hermione and his three month old son interacted. It was amazing how easily she managed to make him laugh.

The three of them spent that night talking through the mirror. For the first time in a very long time, Harry thought that the empty space on the left side of the bed didn't feel so bad as it used to. Ginny was playing quidditch, too busy trying to become the best chaser of her age to spend time with Harry and their son. It was her loss…

* * *

The twenty two year old wizard was starting to lose his mind.

He was definitely losing it.

"C'mon Jamie…" he pleaded again, rocking his son and trying to get him to stop crying, but his efforts didn't pay off. James had been crying his lungs out for almost two hours and there was nothing Harry could think of to make him stop. He was actually starting to worry about something going wrong with him and for the first time he really hated Ginny for leaving them again to attend another social gathering in honour of The Boy Who Lived.

"What's wrong James?" Harry asked again, sitting on his bed with his crying son in his arms.

Of course, the nine months old baby didn't answer his father's question and his cries only got worse. Only then, Harry noticed the mirror that was resting on his night table. Somehow, he and his son seemed to think the exact same thing at the same moment and before Harry could reach out his hand to get the mirror, James had wrapped his tiny fingers around the piece of glass.

"It's the middle of the night, James. We can't call Hermione" he tried to explain and the kid's cries grew even louder "Shh… It's ok, just close your eyes. Try to sleep, Jamie."

But James had no desire to sleep and he cried louder and louder. Finally, Harry gave up and decided that he would call Hermione. Contacting her on the mirror seemed to be the only thing his son wanted right now.

"Fine, we'll call her" he said at the end and took out his wand to activate the mirror "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good" he said softly and the mirror emitted a soft glow "Hermione Granger" Harry added.

The image on the mirror cleared a few moments after that. Apparently, Hermione had her mirror resting on her night table because both Potters witnessed the image of a sleeping Hermione back in her room at Hogwarts.

"She's sleeping" Harry whispered impressed by the fact that only the sight of the sleeping witch had managed to calm his son a bit.

James looked carefully at the mirror and his small hands tried to reach her through the glass only to find that he was unable to touch her. And that set him off again.

Hermione had been having a quite pleasant dream before she heard them. At first, she thought she was still dreaming when she started hearing a baby crying and the sound of Harry's voice trying to calm him, but when she turned around and looked into the mirror, she almost fell off the bed in surprise.

"Harry?" she asked rubbing her eyes "James?"

"Hermione, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to wake you" he apologized immediately.

"What… what's happened?" Hermione asked again trying to figure out why was Harry on the mirror at such a late time of the night and suddenly the fact that James was crying hit her, maybe something had happened to him "Why is he crying? Is he ok?"

"I… I don't know… He looks fine but he hasn't stopped crying in almost two hours. I didn't know what else to do" Harry adjusted the mirror so that James came into her view

"Is he hurt? Has something bad happened?"

"He just didn't want to go to sleep… I don't know what's wrong"

"James…" Hermione called him trying to get his attention and the crying baby turned his red puffy eyes to look at her "What's wrong, Jamie?" she asked softly.

Once again, the baby tried to touch her through the mirror and when his hand met nothing more than the cold piece of glass he started shouting again.

"Do… do you want me to come over, Harry?" she asked with a worried expression on her face.

"That would be great but… Don't you have to work tomorrow?"

"I do, but I don't think I'll be able to sleep if I know that something's wrong with him"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive" she nodded "Just give me ten minutes, I can't apparate inside of Hogwarts but I'll leave right now and I'll apparate at your house in a couple of minutes"

"Thank you, Hermione" he said and she smiled at him.

"Mischief managed" she whispered to the mirror and James cries faded into the silence.

Fifteen minutes later, the loud crack of apparition surprised Harry, who was trying to do everything in his power to calm his son.

"I'm here, I'm here" Hermione said walking as fast as she could towards them.

As soon as the kid spotted her, he threw his arms in her direction and when she was close enough, Harry let her take his son into her arms.

"Hello, little man" she whispered kissing his small face "What's wrong Jamie?"

The baby curled up against her chest as she rocked him softly but his cries didn't stop.

"Thank god you came. I was a second away from casting a Silencing Charm on him." Harry sighed running hand through his messy hair.

"Hush, hush baby boy" she whispered again without paying much attention to her best friend "It's ok, you're ok"

Harry walked towards her and kissed the top of her head as a way to welcome her while she rocked James.

"Thank you for coming, Hermione"

"Hi Harry" she smiled looking at him only for a second before returning her eyes to the baby.

Finally able to take five minutes out, Harry sat on his bed while Hermione paced around his room with James in her arms. She held him against her chest with one hand while she stroked his face with the other, whispering soft words meant to help him calm down. It took her almost fifteen minutes to get him to stop crying but finally, she did it.

By the point James's cries faded into silence, Harry had been watching his best friend for what felt like forever. He was amazed at how natural she looked holding James and how she seemed to know exactly what to do to get him to calm down. It was almost like magic. He found himself allowing his thoughts to run wild while she looked at the two people that he loved the most in this world. How James's tiny hand buried in Hermione's bushy hair, how she stroked his skin softly, how perfectly the two of them seemed to fit in each other's arms… and how stunningly beautiful Hermione looked. He hadn't allowed himself to look at her like a woman since their fourth year at Hogwarts, but recently he had found himself admiring her beauty quite often.

"There you go…" she smiled taking a seat next to Harry on the bed, the young wizard was surprised to see that she was holding his sleeping son.

"How… how did you do it?"

"I just held him…" she shrugged "He was exhausted"

"Are you sure that you didn't use any kind of sleeping spell on him?"

"Harry!" she scolded him in a whisper.

"I'm just joking… How did you manage to get him to sleep so fast? I've been trying to do that for ages!"

"Shh! It will be impossible to put him back to sleep if you wake him now"

"Sorry, sorry" he smiled "You can put him down in the bed if you want… I was going to sleep with him tonight anyway."

"Ok…" she slowly placed the sleeping baby in the center of the bed but before she could let him go, James closed his small fist around a handful of her hair.

"I won't blame him for wanting to share the bed with a pretty girl" Harry joked while Hermione tried to release herself from the stubborn baby but as soon as she left his side, James started to cry in his sleep.

"Shh… We're right here, Jamie" she assured him and she finally gave up and laid down next to the baby who snuggled up against her.

"He can be pretty stubborn when he wants to, don't you think?" Hermione smiled stroking the kid's face.

"He also knows that he has you wrapped around his little finger" Harry teased.

"Who's the one who got him to sleep, Potter?" she teased back and they both laughed softly.

Seeing that his son was not going to allow Hermione to leave his side, Harry decided to lie down on Hermione's other side trying to not think about the fact that he was sharing his bed with a woman who wasn't Ginny. Hermione held her breath for a second, but when she noticed that Harry was as close as he could without touching her, she relaxed.

"What do you think that was wrong with him?" Harry asked.

"I think he just needed… well…" she sighed and looked up to meet his eyes before she spoke "Harry, I think he just missed his mother…"

Her words hit Harry even though she has tried to say that as softly as she could.

"Yeah… maybe you're right" he admitted with a guilty expression on his face "Between Quidditch and the job she got in the Daily Prophet, she almost spends more time telling the world that she's the mother of Harry Potter's son than actually being with him"

"Where's Ginny anyway?"

"She's in Scotland. She had to attend to some dinner in honour of The Boy Who Lived…" he rolled his eyes.

"Are you kidding?" Hermione frowned.

"She'll be back tomorrow in the afternoon"

"Harry that's…"

"I don't want to talk about Ginny right now" he interrupted her "Hermione…"

"Don't" she cut him off before he could say anything, she knew him well enough to read what he wanted to tell her on his green eyes "Please don't go there"

"You can't deny that there's something going on here…" Harry argued, he had been trying to talk to her for weeks by now.

"We're best friends" she clarified "You love me and I love you, both of you" she whispered "But there's no more to it than that. Best friends" she repeated at the end "There can't be anything else between us"

"But…"

"Shh…" she interrupted him again, pleading him with her eyes to drop the topic "I should go back to Hogwarts" she started to move to get up.

"No, stay" Harry's words left his lips before he could think about it "I can take a page out of James's book and pull your hair until you decide that you'll stay with me…" he tried to joke as a way to release the tension his words had created.

She couldn't deny that lying between the two men she loved the most was not at all an unpleasant way to spend her night… But she couldn't. Spending the night with Harry, even having James on the same bed with him, was too much of a risk. She had worked very hard to bury his old feelings for his best friend and James arrival had brought them back to the surface, but that didn't meant that she had to act on them. No, she wouldn't act on her feelings, she couldn't risk the pain that action could bring her.

"I have to leave…" she whispered looking deeply into his eyes.

And he understood what she had left unsaid, she couldn't stay. So he let her go.

"Thank you for helping me, I don't know what I'd do without you, Hermione" he said sincerely and something inside the witch's heart tingled with a thousand warm feelings.

"Hopefully, we won't need to find out" she smiled and she kissed James's forehead before leaving the bed "Good night, Harry" she smiled at him and before he could answer, she was gone.

* * *

The young witch was enjoying the peaceful silence of the castle at that time of the year. It was the middle of the summer, there were no students around and only some teachers had stayed during the holidays. Hermione was taking advantage of this by reading on the Great Hall's Gryffindor table. She had been about to finish her book when a familiar voice distracted her.

"'Mione!" the kid called with a wide grin on his face while he run towards her.

"James!" she smiled back and got up just in time to catch him when the four year old jumped into her arms and she picked him up "What are you doing here, Jamie?" she asked confused.

"This a castle! Do you live here, 'Mione?" he said ignoring her question, apparently the kid was too stunned with Hogwarts to pay attention to anything else.

"Yes…" she smiled, James's joy rubbing off on her a little.

She was about to ask him why he was in the castle again when she saw Minerva McGonagall walking inside the empty Great Hall next to the most important man in her world.

"Harry!" Hermione's smile grew even wider when she greeted him.

"Hi, Hermione" he smiled warmly at her and managed to give her a hug even with James in her arms.

"Daddy! You're hurting me!" James complained and they laughed.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked unable to stop smiling.

"We came to see you, of course" Harry smiled and leaned closer to whisper into her ear "McGonagall seems to be obsessed with me being the DADA teacher. I've told her I'm considering the offer and she invited us to stay in the castle for a few days"

"Are you considering it?" she asked.

"Not until James is a few years older…" he answered honestly.

"Then why…"

But she was suddenly interrupted by Professor McGonagall who had stayed behind to give them a few seconds to say hello.

"Good morning, Minerva" Hermione smiled at the witch.

"Miss Granger" she nodded towards the witch.

"She's a bit scary…" James whispered in Hermione's ear and the witch laughed.

"She's nice, don't worry. She's a friend" she assured the little boy and James nodded.

Minerva McGonagall watched with increasing curiosity the way Hermione interacted with the youngest Potter. She held the kid naturally, almost as if he were her own son, and James seemed to trust her at least as much as he trusted his father…

"I was wondering if you would accompany Mr Potter to take a walk around the castle. I have a few things that require my immediate attention before I can talk to Mr Potter"

"Yes, of course" Hermione nodded automatically "Although I don't think Harry needs someone to show him the castle…"

"I'm sure you'll both find something to occupy your time with. You can show the castle to young James" she suggested "And it's a beautiful day to fly, Mr Potter"

"Indeed it is" Harry's eyes lit up at the perspective of flying "Shall we?" he extended his hand towards Hermione who was still holding James.

"I want to fly! Daddy! Let's show 'Mione what you taught me!" James spoke this time.

"I'll join you in a few hours" said McGonagall and they parted ways.

An hour later, Harry and James were flying around on their respective broomsticks. Ron had given James a toy broomstick on his second birthday and the kid had rarely spent a day without flying ever since.

"James! Be careful!" she yelled casting another cushioning charm on the Quidditch pitch.

"Funny!" the kid laughed after having performed another dangerous trick with the broomstick, just as his father had taught him.

"Harry, please. You two will give me a heart attack"

"He's ok… don't worry!" Harry yelled from above, he had been taking advantage of the fact that Hermione was watching James to fly a little higher.

"Watch this!" James told Hermione and the witch soon covered her mouth in fear as the young boy spinned in the air.

"That was brilliant, James!" Harry congratulated his son.

"Bloody hell, Harry! He'll break his head in two and you're encouraging him?"

"He'll be ok" Harry reassured her flying closer to where she was, James following him immediately.

"He's only four years old, Harry. It's dangerous…"

"It's not… I've cast a sticking charm on the broom, he won't fall"

"And you're telling me this now?"

"Watch me, watch me!" James called them again and this time he showed them his attempt at a Wronski Feint which reminded Hermione of how many times Harry had pulled off that same trick making her heart stop with fear every time he did it.

"Well done, Jamie!" Harry congratulated his son again when he came back to his side.

"That was so dangerous!" Hermione complied again.

"No watch this, watch this!" James said excitedly as he flew a few feet away, Harry congratulated him again after he had showed them how he could perform a Sloth Grip Roll. Needless to say, Hermione's heart had stopped for several seconds before James came back in one piece.

"Ok, James… you should take it easy for a while, you'll give Hermione a heart attack if you keep it up"

"Thank you…" the witch breathed a sigh of relief as she saw James flying around without trying to pull off any suicidal move.

"Do you want to join us?" Harry asked extending his hand in her direction.

"You promise to not try to get us killed?"

"You'll be safe…" he smiled.

"Fine…" she reluctantly agreed and she took Harry's hand accepting his help.

"Daddy! Show her what you do when you take me on your broomstick!"

Harry winked at his son before wrapping his arms tightly around Hermione. He had never flown with anyone but his son, but it certainly was a good experience to have Hermione with him on his broomstick.

"Hold on tight!" he warned her before he sent them flying higher than he had been before and then twirling back down.

"Harry James Potter!" the witch screamed trying to control her fear.

"Do it again, do it again!" James cheered from his broom, flying just a few feet above the ground.

"Harry don't…"

But before she could finish, they were twirling through the air again.

"Open your eyes, this is fun" Harry advised her.

He didn't stop until she finally laughed. After overcoming the fear to fall, she had to admit that performing these suicidal tricks was actually a pretty enjoyable experience. Although probably her enjoyment had to do more with the wizard holding her in place than with the actual flying thing, something she would never be willing to admit.

Harry made her heart race with adrenaline pulling off as many dangerous moves as he could, taking advantage of the opportunity to hold her as close as possible. Their laughter filled the entire pitch mixed with James's cheering.

Finally, after almost twenty minutes, Harry decided that she had had enough and slowly flew back to the ground.

"That was amazing…" Hermione admitted. Harry had a hard time trying to picture something more beautiful than Hermione with her hair messy and tangled, her cheeks reddened by the adrenaline boost and a wide smile on her lips…

"My turn, daddy!" James flew towards his father and Harry easily picked him up from the toy broomstick that fell to the ground as soon as the young wizard dropped it.

"Please be careful" Hermione pleaded as she saw James holding tightly to his dad and while they flew up, she cast a silent sticking charm just in case.

"Mr Potter is indeed every bit as talented as his father was… I must say that his ability still surprises me" Hermione almost jumped in her place when she heard those words being spoken so near to her.

"Professor McGonagall…"

The young witch felt her cheeks go red, the wide grin on McGonagall's face indicated that she had witnessed her flying session with Harry.

"And his son appears to have inherited that talent too…" Minerva added while she watched them both flying higher and higher.

"Of course he has…" Hermione smiled "He's amazing at it. Just like Harry"

"So… I see that Mr Potter and you had grown even closer than during your years at Hogwarts… and that's definitely saying something…" the oldest witch smiled and Hermione's cheek burned crimson.

"It's… it's not what you're thinking. We're just friends" she clarified.

"But you love him" the old witch said the words without even blinking and Hermione snapped his head at her, unable to find a clever answer to such a compromising declaration.

"I… Yes, I do… he's my best friend, Minerva. There's nothing more to it than that"

"Yet, by the looks you send at each other, one could only guess that there are deeper feelings than mere friendship going on between you two"

"Professor…"

"Not to mention your unusual relationship with young James…" McGonagall continued "And the fact that Ginny Weasley still remains a Weasley"

"Harry's relationship with Ginny is complicated, their bond is not strong enough to vow eternal love to each other. But that doesn't have anything to do with Harry and me. We're just friends" she stated again.

"You know that's not true, Hermione" McGonagall surprised her by addressing her by her first name.

"It is…" she insisted "We can't be more than friends. He's got a family and I…" she sighed "We simply can't"

"As a woman who has much more than twice your age, I advise you to hold on to what you love while you still can, Miss Granger… Happiness is a rare jewel… Love is even harder to find. You may be denying yourself your only chance to be happy"

"I am happy" she argued.

"He makes you happy. Being there for him makes you happy… but if he suddenly gets back on track with Miss Weasley, I can assure you that you'll not be happy without him"

"I…" she mumbled, incapable of forming a coherent sentence.

"The truth is not always a pleasant piece of information to learn… But it must be told. I hope you don't hold any hard feelings towards me for telling you this"

"No" Hermione sighed "Thank you, Professor…"

Their conversation ended when Harry and James joined them again. James threw himself into Hermione's arms talking excitedly about the amazing things his father had taught him while they were flying together, his hair was even messier than usual and his green eyes were shining with joy. While she listened to him, Hermione thought that she would give anything to keep that smile on his face forever.

* * *

For reasons of comfort, Harry and James were sleeping in Gryffindor tower during the Potters' stay at the castle. As a teacher, Hermione had her own room, but she had spent the entire day with them in Gryffindor tower anyway. During their first evening at the castle, Harry was reading a new interview Ginny had given to Rita Skeeter while James played with Hermione by the fire. The three of them had agreed to wait for Minerva in Gryffindor common room and then go down to dinner with the remaining teachers.

"Here, hold it like this…" Hermione instructed the young boy while she showed him how to hold Harry's wand "Good job…"

"And now… what do I do?"

"Close your eyes" she whispered and the kid immediately followed her instructions "What's your favorite color, James?"

"Golden"

"Great. Now breath in and picture the color in your head"

Once again, he did as she said.

"Now breath out…" she whispered "And again…"

Hermione's lips curled when she saw the tip of the wand starting to shine and she kept talking with a soft tone.

"Focus on your hands, on the contact with the wand… And keep picturing the color in your mind" she instructed "Breath in again…" she waited a second to let him carry out her instructions "And now concentrate on the wand and try to push the color out of your mind, picture it surrounding you while you breath out…"

Hermione was pleased to see a bright golden glow starting to emerge from the wand and she caught Harry's attention. Wide proud grins spread through their faces as they watched James's magic.

"Open your eyes, Jamie"

"Wow!" James exclaimed when he opened his eyes and found himself surrounded by a shiny golden cloud "Wicked!"

"Great job, James" Hermione congratulated.

"Dad! Dad! Did you see what I've just done?" he started to bounce up and down and dropped Harry's wand on his excitement, Hermione quickly summoned it to her hand in order to avoid any accident.

"That was brilliant, James!" he smiled picking up his son and walking towards Hermione "Nothing but brilliant results can be expected from a brilliant teacher" he told her with a big smile on his face.

"It was all his doing" she stroked James's messy dark hair "If there's someone brilliant here, that's this amazing little wizard"

James's grin spread even wider at this comment and he threw himself into the witch's arms. Harry let him go and the boy hugged Hermione as tight as his small arms allowed him.

"I love you, 'Mione"

Harry's and Hermione's eyes locked for a second at those words and a thousand emotions fluttered inside their hearts.

"I love you too, Jamie…" she smiled at the boy and his green eyes shone with happiness.

Hermione's brown eyes met a different pair of green ones when she put James back on the floor. She felt that something was changing between them, and for a second, she almost thought that Harry was about to lean in and kiss her.

But James interrupted, asking her to help him again with his magic and she could not refuse.

While he watched them practise, Harry decided that he had spent too long denying the truth to himself. He had spent his entire life seeking love only to find it right under his nose. He smiled again as he watched James trying to give his golden glow the shape of a horse. She made his son happy and there was no denying that he was happier than ever when she was around. He wanted to keep her, he wanted to keep her around forever.

Harry's thoughts were interrupted when Professor McGonagall came into the Gryffindor common room and the four of them made their way to the great hall where where they enjoyed dinner with the small group of teachers that had stayed in the castle during the summer.

When they finished eating, James asked Hermione to teach him more magic and Harry happily lent them his wand to practise. With his father's wand in his hand, the four year old kid took Hermione's hand and led her away.

Harry stayed behind, talking to a few of his former professors and watching Hermione and his son practise. After almost an hour of small talk, he left the table and walked towards Hermione and James who were surrounded by shining blue and red sparks.

"Dad! Look at this!" James called his attention as soon as he was close enough to hear him and the kid closed his eyes in a concentrated expression holding his father's wand with both of his small hands and a jet of red sparks surrounded them.

"Well done, James!" Harry smiled at his son.

"He's a natural" Hermione smiled too "I think he'll be the best in his charms class…"

"Are you sure that this won't get us in any trouble with the Ministry?"

"Don't worry, he won't be sent to Azkaban for playing with his father's wand" Hermione assured him "We're just experimenting with some sparks… He's not even performing any real spell"

"Is it safe?"

"Says the man who was doing that Wonky-Faint thing with his son on a broomstick only a few hours ago?" she arched her eyebrows.

"It's called Wronski Feint" he corrected and Hermione flushed, she hated to make mistakes "And he's perfectly safe with me on a broomstick"

"He's perfectly safe practising wand magic with me too…" she gave him a bright smile "It's not like we were conjuring fire or anything like that… Anyway, I think that was enough for today… Give your dad his wand back, James" she instructed and the boy didn't hesitate to do as she said.

"Thank you for lending it to me, daddy" James said as he gave the wand back to his father with the brightest of smiles.

"Sometimes you're just too adorable for your own good, kid" Harry laughed softly while the boy climbed onto Hermione's lap and snuggled up against her body.

"What is it, Jamie?" the witch asked wrapping her arms around the boy automatically "Do you want to go to sleep?"

James nodded his head in agreement and closed his eyes. That was him, from the most active and excited kid in the world to asleep in less than a minute.

"He's exhausted" Hermione smiled stroking his messy hair.

"Mr Potter, might we have a word?" Professor McGonagall interrupted them.

"We were about to…"

"Don't worry" Hermione cut him off "I'll put him to bed, you stay here as much as you need to"

"Are you sure?" he asked her.

"Positive" the witch gave him a small smile and got up holding a sleepy James in his arms.

"Ok…" he pulled her closer to give her a small kiss on the cheek and then he kissed his son's forehead "Goodnight, James"

"Bye, daddy" the kid mumbled yawning.

"I'll see you in a while" Harry smiled at his best friend.

"See you later. Goodnight, Minerva"

"Goodnight, Miss Granger"

McGonagall waited until Hermione and James left the room to take a seat with Harry on the empty Gryffindor and started to speak.

"You have a very talented son, Mr Potter"

"He's really special…" Harry nodded with a smile on his face.

"And Miss Granger seems to be doing a really good job at instructing him" the headmistress added.

"She'll have him mastering a fifth year spell in no time if she keeps this up" Harry smiled again "Sometimes she gets carried away and she forgets that he's only four years old"

"He's absolutely brilliant for his age… And I've heard he's a fair flyer too"

"He loves flying, I wouldn't be surprised to see him becoming a part of the quidditch team as soon as he starts his first year here"

"Apparently that's a talent that runs though the family…" McGonagall made a pause before she spoke again "He seems to get along with Miss Granger pretty well…"

"They've always been close. Sometimes I think that he's closer to her than to his own mother" for a moment, both of the were surprised by the truth of those words.

"He doesn't seem to be the only one in that situation" the witch commented calmly.

"What do you mean, Professor?" he asked confused.

"Harry, I might be old… but I know how to recognize love when I see it"

Just as they they had done a few hours earlier with Miss Granger, Minerva McGonagall's words surprised Harry so much that he found it difficult to produce a coherent reply.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Professor… she's just… my friend. She's made sure to make that clear a long time ago"

"You remind me so much of your father, Mr Potter" she sighed "He and your mother spent years denying their feelings. I thought I'd never find a more stubborn couple, until I saw you and Miss Granger"

"We don't have a chance, I have a family… she's happy here"

"You might have a wonderful son, but what you have is not a family, Harry" she told him and the truth of his words hit him like a wrecking ball "You should try to stop doing what other people expect from you and take a leap of faith. As someone who's been around for a very long time, I can tell you that it would be very foolish of you to let this opportunity escape"

"You didn't invite me to the castle to consider your offer about teaching Defense, did you?"

A wide grin spread through the former transfigurations' teacher face and a small laugh escaped her lips.

"After all you've been through, you deserve to be happy, Potter"

Without another word, McGonagall got up and left Harry alone with his thoughts. The witch's words echoed in Harry's head as Harry went back to Gryffindor tower only to find one of the most adorable scenes he had seen in his life.

Apparently, Hermione had cast an engorgement charm on one of the sofas to give it the size of an enormous bed. James slept with his head on the witch's chest while she held him against her body. He rarely had any opportunities to watch Hermione sleep but he had to admit that is was a delightful sight. Her brown locks were spread through the pillows and her face was relaxed in a peaceful expression. Her beauty was almost intoxicating.

He knew that it was wrong, he knew that he should leave them sleep and find another place to do the same. But her beauty was hypnotizing and he was tired of trying to live up to everybody's expectations. For once, he decided to do exactly what he wanted and he fell on the bed next to Hermione's body.

"Harry?" she mumbled half asleep.

"Yeah… it's me" he whispered.

"Harry…" she breathed, his name in her lips sounded like a magical melody.

"I'm right here" he assured her again and she breathed out in her sleep.

Unconsciously, Hermione snuggled against him. Harry was amazed to discover that their bodies fit together perfectly and wrapped an arm around her and James. He'd never felt so comfortable in his life.

* * *

When Hermione woke up the next morning, she found herself entangled between her two favorite boys. Somehow, James had climbed up her body and he was sleeping on top of her chest. Harry, on the other hand, was lying on his side, his arms tightly wrapped around both of them and his face buried in the crook of her neck. She had never felt so overwhelmed by physical contact. There were no words to explain it, but somehow she felt surrounded by a powerful feeling of love. She closed her eyes and snuggled up against Harry while she held James a little closer to her chest. Until suddenly, she realised what she was doing and her eyes snapped open. What the bloody hell was she doing in a bed with Harry and his son?

And then she remembered the last night. How she had told James a bedtime story, how the young boy had fallen asleep and she had watched. With only four years, the kid was and exact copy of his father. Sometimes, the resemblance was just astonishing… She figured that she must have fallen asleep watching James. But that didn't explain why Harry's arms were tightly wrapped around her and James. Or why he was so close to her. Or why his body felt so blissfully warm against hers…

For goodness sake! She had to leave that bed immediately if she didn't want to lose herself in the strong feelings that her best friend was evoking in her.

Hermione tried to move away, but soon she realised that there was no way to leave the bed without waking at least one of them.

"Harry…" she whispered "Harry, wake up"

"Mmm…" he mumbled and he tightened his grip around them.

"Harry" she called again and he opened his eyes immediately, scanning the room in search of danger. The war had really made a number on him… "Everything's ok, it's just me" she assured him and his eyes lightened when he saw her.

"Good morning" he smiled.

"Could you please take James? I need to leave…"

"Where?" he asked yawning.

"It doesn't matter, just take him and go back to sleep…"

She disentangled herself from Harry's arms and carefully put the boy on his chest. James moved a little, but the familiar sound of his father's heartbeat was all that he needed to go back to sleep. Having his son in his arms, Harry's eyes fell closed again.

"Stay with us" Harry whispered, wrapping his free arm around her before she could leave the bed and pulling her back to his side.

"Harry…" she sighed "I can't stay"

"Please…" he finally opened his eyes to find hers. Hermione's brown eyes were shining with a thousand contradictory feelings.

"I have to leave, Harry. I have things to do, I promised Flitwick to check…" but her excuse died in the middle of a sentence, too captivated by Harry's hypnotizing green eyes.

"Stay with us…" he repeated, whispering the words in her ear.

But you love him.

The words spoken by her former transfigurations teacher the day before echoed in Hermione's brain when she found herself captive of Harry's gaze.

Hermione took a deep breath and used all her will to disentangle herself from Harry's arms and flee from the bed.

But he wasn't about to let her go. He carefully laid his sleeping son on the bed before going after her. He couldn't let her go.

Now he saw it. It was so clear in his mind…

After all you've been through, you deserve to be happy, Potter.

Happiness. She was happiness. Waking up with her in his arms was happiness. Watching her holding James was happiness. Her laughter, her shining eyes, her infinite knowledge, everything about her was happiness.

"I have to leave"

"What if you didn't?" he asked grabbing her hand before she could walk away "What if things were different? Would you stay?"

There were so many feelings disguised in that question that Hermione's determination trembled. What was he talking about?

"Please, don't do this Harry…" she sighed "You're with Ginny and I'm… I'm happy. We can't. We just can't"

"You didn't answer my question…"

The witch took a deep breath trying to think of a way to answer honestly without telling him the truth of what she really felt felt for him.

"Harry, we've always been the best of friends. That's what we are, that's how our relation works. Let's not make this more complicated…"

"Well maybe I don't want to be your friend…" Harry said walking closer to her.

"Harry…"

"If things were different… would you stay?" Harry whispered softly, his breath tickling Hermione's face. They had never been so close to each other, nothing had ever felt so right…

"They aren't…" she whispered back, trying as hard as she could to resist the urge to touch him.

"They could be…" Harry's hand reached her cheek and she closed her eyes at the contact "I could make everything change, Hermione…"

"Why?" she asked in a barely audible voice.

You should try to stop doing what other people expect from you and take a leap of faith.

"Because I love you"

Hermione's eyes snapped open at his answer. It was so simple, so easy, so natural… She'd be aching for him more than a half of her life, never brave enough to claim him… and now there he was, telling her that he loved with so little words. It was so simple that it was almost ridiculous.

She opened her mouth to say something but no words came, there was no need for them… after all, they had always been able to communicate without speaking.

He looked deep into her eyes, searching her soul for confirmation, he needed to know… and she allowed him to see, she allowed him to read her feelings on her eyes. A pair of shining matching smiles illuminated their faces for a second and then, he did what he had never thought he would actually do in real life. Harry leaned in and kissed Hermione.

I advise you to hold on to what you love while you still can, Miss Granger…

And she did. She held onto him and kissed him deeper, allowing the intense feelings to consume her.

And finally, after what felt like eternity, they felt home.


	4. Her Favourite Pair of Potters (part II)

_**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**_

 _ **A.N.: Hello beautiful people! I don't have much time so this note won't be too long. As you asked, here's the second part of "Her Favourite Pair of Potters". This one is shorter than the firts part but I hope you like it too. Your reviews made my day. You're amazing!  
I don't know when I'll be able to update again because I have a LOT to study this week but I'll write more as soon as I can. I hope you like this one and please let me know what you think about it in the review box ;) If you want, you can also let me know what you want to read next ;)  
Thank you for reading!**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Luna.**_

* * *

 _ **Her Favourite Pair of Potters (part II)**_

To say that their week at Hogwarts had been an enjoyable experience was an understatement. After that first morning they spent together and the kiss that followed Harry's confession, Hermione's resistance had faded into nothing. As usual, she had been worried for James, but it wasn't too difficult to convince her that James would be more than happy if they got together.

Needless to say, they kept their new romantic relationship a secret from everybody for a while, not even James could know, although Minerva McGonagall's eyes told them that she suspected something had changed or was about to change between them.

Hermione, Harry and James had spent an amazing week together in the castle. They mostly spent the days doing whatever James wanted, which usually involved him and Harry flying and Hermione casting cushioning and sticking charms around them, trying to control her heart from stopping at the dangerous tricks her boys enjoyed to pull off. She had taken up the habit of thinking about them as _her_ boys, something that made her flush every time the thought crossed her mind.

Harry and her had made use of the few minutes alone they had at nights after James fell asleep enjoying some pretty gratifying stolen kisses. They could hardly remember how they had managed remain alive for more than twenty years without the warm feeling of the other's lips.

But just like all good things in life, their week at Hogwarts came to an end. Harry had promised Hermione to change as many things as he had to change in order to be with her, and even though she loved him exactly for who he was, there were a few things that he had to arrange before they could finally be together. And the first one of them was his relationship with Ginny.

He had to wait for another week until Ginny came back home from playing the summer season of quidditch with the Holyhead Harpies and another two days until he finally managed to find a moment to talk to her. James was staying with Bill and Fleur at Shell Cottage for the weekend and Ginny finally seemed to have a free night to listen to what he had been trying to tell her for days.

This was not going to be easy, but the more Harry thought about it, the more convinced he was of his decision. Even if he had not discovered his romantic feelings for Hermione, the life he had with Ginny was not what he wanted for his son and himself.

"Gin, I need to talk to you" he told the mother of his son taking a seat in front of her at the table.

"Yes, just wait a minute. I'm giving this article the last touches. Witch Weekly is posting an article trying to guess where we are going on holidays this year. I think the public's favourite choice is Greece, we haven't been there yet. What do you think?"

"It's important, Ginny…"

"Of course it is" she told him without looking away from the piece of parchment "I'm worried because I don't know if the Prophet will be able to send a reporter's team to cover our trip to Greece. Rita suggested that it will be more interesting if we take a holiday alone. We'll have to leave James somewhere, maybe Bill and Fleur won't mind looking after him for a few days. He'll have Victorie to keep him entertained…"

"Ginny, there won't be a holiday this year" Harry interrupted annoyed by her ideas.

"Harry… don't be silly. We need the rest and our holidays always make a special annual number of Witch Weekly. We can't simply stay here this year"

"Could you stop worrying about those stupid magazines and pay attention to me for a moment?" he almost shouted at her.

"What… what is it?" she asked completely clueless.

"This is not working anymore Gin. I don't know why I didn't see it before, but I can't do this anymore."

"What do you mean, Harry? You're the Boy Who Lived, you're a celebrity. You are supposed to do this stuff, it's who you are"

"No. That's not who I am. I'm Harry, just Harry. And you've never been able to understand that. We're not working, I want to move out with James. It's over between us, Gin."

Those words seemed to catch Ginny's attention and she finally looked up to meet Harry's eyes.

"Harry, that's nonsense! How… why… no. I love you. You can't just leave me" she struggled with the words starting to feel an uncomfortable lump in her throat.

"Do you? Do you really love _me_ , Ginny?" Harry asked, his tone deep and serious.

"What kind of stupid question is that?"

"I asked if you loved me. _Me._ The real me, not that rubbish about the Boy Who Lived that you fancy so much"

"But… what will the people think?" she mumbled with tears starting to pool her eyes.

"I don't bloody care about what the people think, Ginny!" he shouted, unable to keep calm "I care about my happiness. My _son's_ happiness. Do you think it's easy for him to have a mother who barely takes time to come and see him a few times a week? When was the last time you put him to bed?"

"It… It's not my fault, Harry"

"Then whose is it?"

"It's because of her, isn't it?" Ginny asked with her voice shaking "A witch from the Prophet told me you were seen at Hogwarts with James last week, you went to visit her behind my back!"

"I didn't do anything behind your back. You never asked what we were doing, you never wrote. Not even to ask me about James"

"But she does, doesn't she?" the haired witch snapped "She's always writing to you, always trying to find a moment to turn you and my son against me!"

"For Merlin, Ginny! Listen to what you're saying! That's nonsense! Hermione would never try to do something that would hurt James and you know it!"

"You didn't answer, Harry. It _is_ about her, isn't it? You're leaving me because of her!"

"I'm leaving you because we don't work, Gin" he said, trying to calm down to manage the situation like the adult he was.

"You love her… you always have" she muttered, a few tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

For a second, he didn't answer, but when his eyes met Ginny's again, the answer was crystal clear.

"I do" he said firmly and those two simple words were all that needed to be said.

Ginny felt the illusions of her entire life crumbling down and something broke inside her. Deep down, she had always known it.

* * *

An entire year went by before everything settled down. Harry and James moved to a new house and Hermione decided to teach at Hogwarts for that year just as she had planned giving McGonagall time to find someone to replace her and giving James and Harry time to get used to the life without Ginny. Hermione visited her boys every weekend and talked to them often. Her relationship with both Potter boys growing stronger and stronger with every passing day.

Finally, when the summer started, she left her room at Hogwarts and joined the boys in their new home. If she really wanted to build a family with Harry, she couldn't live in the castle, so she decided to quit job and move in with them.

James, of course, was delighted to have her living with them.

"We can practise magic everyday after lunch, and I can teach you to fly like daddy taught me! And you can tell me stories and teach me more magic and we can fly together, and you can hug me before going to bed every night and we can beat daddy at chess and… and… and…"

"James, breath" Harry laughed at his son's endless string of words.

"You're really staying with us _forever_?" James asked Hermione with the most beautiful sparkling green eyes she had ever seen.

Harry's eyes met hers for a second before she answered. Forever was a really big word, but she was sure that there was no other measure of time that would be enough to be with them. She could see in Harry's eyes that he agreed with her.

"Yes, I really am" she answered the kid, her own eyes shining with the joy of that statement, and James jumped into her arms to hug her as tightly as he could.

"See? I told you he'd love to have you here" Harry smiled at them "Almost as much as I do" he added with a wink and Hermione's grin got even wider.

"Not as much as _I_ love to be here with you" she said.

"Welcome home, Hermione" Harry whispered in her ear before giving her a small kiss that was quickly interrupted by his very excited five year old son.

Hermione spent that first day at home following James around the house and listening to every single one of the great things the kid had planned for them to do now that she was living with them. Harry followed them too, delighted by his son's excitement and the great happiness that reflected on the face of the woman he loved.

"Ok, mate. Time to go to bed…" Harry told his son as Hermione closed a book of stories after reading the kid four tales.

"I don't want to go to bed. I want to hear another story" James said with a frown and he turned his face towards Hermione "Will you tell me another story, 'Mione?"

"I think your father is right, James" she told him softly "We can read another story tomorrow"

"But I'm not tired…" he tried to argue but a yawn betrayed him and he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand "I _really_ don't want to go to bed"

"Come on, mate. Hermione can help you to change into your pyjamas if you want" Harry said picking him up.

At that, the kid's eyes twinkled and he looked at Hermione with a questioning look, she nodded in agreement and rose to her feet to join them.

As Harry said, Hermione helped James with his pyjamas while Harry got the bed ready for his son to jump in it. Finally, they both tucked him into bed and Harry kissed his forehead as a way of saying good night.

"Nighty night, daddy" James smiled and started to close his eyes.

"Say goodnight to Hermione, James" Harry told him softly and the kid's eyes suddenly snapped open.

"Why? Where is she going?" he asked confused.

"I'm just going to sleep, Jamie. I'll be here in the morning" she assured him.

"But you'll sleep with me. On my little bed. Daddy can make it bigger with his wand, he always does that when I want to sleep with him"

A small laugh left Harry's lips while Hermione chuckled.

"I… I won't sleep here with you, James" she tried to explain.

"But you're living here now, aren't you? You need a bed. We can share mine" he said innocently.

"That's very kind of you, Jamie. But I…"

"She's won't sleep with you, mate. You have your bed and she has hers" Harry said seeing that Hermione couldn't find the words to explain the situation to his son.

"But we don't have another bed, dad… Where will she sleep?"

Hermione flushed slightly at the boy's question and Harry held back a laugh.

"She'll sleep with me" Harry said as seriously as he could.

"Why you can share your bed with her and I can't? It's not fair" the boy complained and this time, Hermione laughed.

"Well… because…"

"You know… when people love each other like your dad and I do… they just… share their bed" Hermione tried to explain.

"But _we_ love each other, don't we 'Mione?" he asked again.

"Yes, we do… but it's different"

"It's not!"

"Harry…" she whispered to him "Maybe just for tonight…"

"Listen James" Harry started again, getting his son's attention "She'll sleep with me, that's just how it is. I'm sorry, mate. You'll understand it when you're older"

"But… but…" he tried to keep arguing.

"Shh… Time to sleep, little boy" Hermione interrupted him "I'll show you a bird-conjuring charm tomorrow if you just relax and go to sleep"

"Really?" he asked, his eyelids starting to flutter closed again. After all, he really was tired.

"I promise" she smiled "Goodnight, James"

"Night, 'Mione" he breathed and closed his eyes.

"He really is the most beautiful kid in the world" Hermione smiled after a few minutes of silence.

Harry nodded in agreement while he stroke his son's wild dark hair. After all those years, he was finally happpy.

* * *

The first summer Harry, James and Hermione spent together as a family was filled with moments they would save in their hearts forever.

Getting used to each other had not been difficult at all and the young James was absolutely overjoyed to have Hermione living with them both.

One night, Harry and Hermione were both fast asleep curled around each other when James's screams woke them, the boy usually didn't have problems to sleep, but once in awhile he would have a nightmare. Those rare times, Harry ended up even more scared than the boy himself. Even after all those years, Harry still hadn't got over the fear of losing the people he loved to the war that had haunted him during his younger years.

"James!" Harry jumped out of the bed when he heard his son screaming and Hermione woke up immediately when she felt him leave her side.

"Harry..." Hermione cupped his face with her hands, the young wizard's eyes were clouded with fear and panic and only the calm look from Hermione's eyes was able to bring him back to reality "He's ok. It's just a nightmare."

"'Mione!" James's voice reached them through the hallway, it was obvious that he was crying.

"I'll get him, ok?" she whispered letting one hand fall to Harry's naked chest, just above his heart. Her touch started to calm him automatically.

"No, no... I'll go" he mumbled. There was nothing in the world he hated more than his son screaming. Apparently when you loved someone that much, there was no escaping from the irrational fear of losing them.

"As you wish" the witch smiled with her sleepy eyes and kissed his lips softly before laying back on the bed again "I'll wait for you" she said turning on the bedside light and picking up one of her books from the nightstand.

"You don't have to. Go back to sleep, Hermione"

"'Mione!" James shouted again.

"Go with him" she said opening her book "He seems scared. I'll be here when you come back"

Harry flashed a thankful smile at her before leaving the room and went straight to his son's bedroom. Hermione bit back a smile when she heard some of the words father and son exchanged in the bedroom next door and she was not surprised when Harry came back only two minutes after he left. He looked relieved and a bit surprised. Hermione had already deciphered what he was going to say before he spoke the words.

"He wants you" Harry told her and she smiled.

"Do you want to come with me?" she offered, her book forgotten on the nightstand again.

"He seems pretty convinced that he only wants you" he smiled this time. His son's relationship with Hermione kept surprising everyday.

"And you're ok with that?" Hermione asked again, not wanting him to feel bad about his son turning to her for comfort instead of his own father.

"'MIONE!" James called her even louder this time.

"Just go, it's ok" he assured her.

Once he spoke those words, Hermione practically vanished from the room. She had been using all of her self control to stop herself from invading Harry's space with James.

In less than a minute, Hermione was sitting on James's bed holding the sleepy green-eyed little boy against her chest. His eyes were red and puffy and he looked like he would fall back asleep in any minute.

"What happened, Jamie?" she whispered softly, stroking his messy black hair.

"It was a snake... I didn't want to tell daddy because he doesn't like snakes, 'Mione. I want to be brave like daddy..."

"You are brave, James" she told him without thinking "You're the bravest young boy I've ever seen, just like your father"

"You think so?"

"Of course, love"

Hermione felt James's smile against her skin and they fell silent after that, holding on to each other with nothing but the sound of their heartbeats echoing in the night.

"I can't sleep" James spoke again after a few minutes.

"I'll tell you what..." Hermione's eyes sparkled with a brilliant idea. "I'll conjure someone to protect you"

"You'd do that?"

"Of course" she smiled again and tucked him back into his bed with loving arms.

Once he was back under his blankets, Hermione gave him a goodnight kiss and concentrated on her happiest memory before whispering the incantation of a patronus charm. It wasn't the first time she had showed him the spell and James loved to play with the small otter that came from Hermione's wand.

"She'll protect you" Hermione promised him and James smiled watching the small otter as she found a comfortable spot next to him on the bed.

"Thank you, 'Mione" James whispered and only a few seconds after that his eyes fell closed again.

Hermione left James's bedroom closing the door behind her softly and walked back into her room to find Harry staring at the ceiling with a serious expression.

"A penny for your thoughts?" Hermione joked when she joined him on the bed.

"Is it too stupid to feel... uncomfortable about him turning to you instead of me when he's scared?" he asked her, his eyes still fixed on the ceiling.

"Harry Potter are you _jealous_?" she smiled playfully and couldn't hold back a small laugh when Harry's cheeks reddened.

"Don't you dare laughing at me!" he playfully threatened her finally turning towards her and trapping her by holding her wrist together against his naked chest.

"You don't scare me, Potter" she laughed again "And you don't have nothing to worry about... Your son loves you more than anyone in this planet. That's never going to change"

Harry smiled when he heard the truth in the woman's voice and released her wrists to wrap his arms around her properly.

"I love you" he whispered against her lips and Hermione's face lit up with the brightest of smiles before he kissed her.

Their kisses were so sweet and addictive that they were rarely able to let the other go once they had given up to the sweet pleasure of losing themselves in each other's body.

"I love you too" she whispered enjoying the soft string of kisses Harry was drawing down her jaw line.

And to Harry's ears, those words sounded like the most powerful of all spells.

* * *

"Wake up, wake up! It's time! Presents! It's time to see the presents!"

Harry woke up when he felt his son bouncing next to him in the bed and he buried his head in Hermione's bushy brown hair wishing to disappear within her brown tresses to get only five more minutes of sleep.

"Dad! 'Mione! Wake up!"

"Harry, wake up..." Hermione joined James this time.

"Five minutes" he mumbled against Hermione's neck and she laughed when his voice tickled her skin.

"Wake up daddy!" James insisted bouncing up and down next to his father on the bed.

Finally, Harry opened his eyes to meet Hermione's brown sleepy brown eyes.

"Morning" he whispered before giving her a soft good morning kiss on the lips.

"Merry christmas, Harry" Hermione smiled delighted with the cute sight of a very sleepy Harry Potter.

"You too..." Harry said and he opened his arms just in time to catch James "Merry christmas, mate"

A few minutes later, Harry and James were sitting on the floor with identical bright grins on their faces ripping open two big boxes. Hermione watched them with a wide smile, waiting patiently to see their faces when they finally saw their presents.

"WICKED!" said James as soon as he saw the content of his box.

Harry gasped and his eyes gleamed even brighter looking up at Hermione.

Two magnificent bright new broomsticks were waiting for them inside the boxes. The handles were back as the night sky and the words "Potter Firebolt" shone in silvery letters at the top of the them. The tails were made of deep blue streamlined birch twigs. James's broom was an exact copy of the original made especially for his size. Harry didn't even needed to touch the broomsticks to feel their energy, he hadn't know that Firebolt was woring on a new product but this prototypes seemed to be beyond anything he had ever dared to imagine.

The two Potter boys looked in awe at their gifts for a long moment before Hermione finally spoke.

"What do you think?" she asked smiling back at them.

Harry's answer was getting up from the floor and giving her a kiss that almost knocked her to the floor. James ran towards them and joined the hug jumping with excitement.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you 'Mione!"

"They are _brilliant_ , Hermione! How did you get them?"

"I've been in contact with Firebolt for a while. They were originally meant to be ready for your birthday but the prototypes were not totally safe so I decided to wait until christmas…" she explained happy to see the joy on their faces.

Needless to say, Harry and James spent the entire day flying on their new broomsticks while Hermione watched them casting some cushioning and hot-air charms around them.

That night, after James finally fell asleep and Harry collapsed equally exhausted after an entire day of flying, Hermione cuddled next to the man she loved and enjoyed the sweet melody of Harry's heartbeat. With a deep sigh of happiness, she allowed herself to relax and fall asleep next to Harry.

Only one thought crossed her mind before her eyes closed:

Sharing her life with her favourite pair of Potters made her the happiest witch alive.


	5. Pretending

**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter world belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I'm only borrowing her amazing creations for a non profit ride around my own fantasy land.**

 **A.N.: Hi! Sorry for disappearing like that. I've been REALLY busy.**  
 **This time, I bring you a story about Harry and Hermione again, it's set during the beginning of sixth year. When the story begins, Hermione is interested in Ron and Harry, in Ginny. That leads the duo to try to find a way of getting their attention and... well, you'll have to read to know what happens then ;)**  
 **I hope you like it and let me know if you spot any mistakes, I didn't really have time to check it twice.**  
 **If you have any request for a future story, they're welcome!**

* * *

 _ **Pretending**_

Hermione Granger entered the Gryffindor common room that night with a clear objective in her mind. She was a girl on a mission.

Sitting near the fireplace, Harry was so concentrated trying to finish his Charms essay that he didn't hear her coming.

"We need to talk" Hermione said without hesitation as soon as she was in front of him.

"Hey, Hermione… I didn't know you were here. What are you doing up this late?" Harry asked confused, rising his sleepy eyes and trying to hide a yawn.

She rolled her eyes when she discovered that he was trying to finish his essay at the last minute and for the looks of it he seemed to be too tired to produce any coherent ideas. They were obviously the only ones awake in Gryffindor tower.

"I've just told you… I needed to talk to you" she repeated taking a seat next to him.

"Well… I'm kind of busy right now…" he gestured to the half empty parchment "Are you sure this can't wait?".

"Actually, it can't. But neither can your homework…" she sighed. "Just hear me out and then I can help you with whatever you're trying to write. Is that Flitwick's essay?"

"Yeah… I've had a lot on my mind lately and…" he yawned.

"I know" she nodded "Listen… There's something I need to ask you".

"Sure, whatever you…"

"Shh! Harry, just listen." She took a deep breath. Somehow, her plan had seemed much more logical when she had been considering it secretly. Facing Harry, it suddenly felt somewhat ridiculous.

"You know you can tell me anything…" Harry whispered sensing her hesitation and she smiled, a bright heartwarming smile that brought a smile of his own to his face.

"I know…" she took another deep breath and closed her eyes before she spoke again "We've known each other for six years and I'm sure that you have noticed what I feel for Ron just as I've noticed what you feel for Ginny..." she began a perfectly practiced speech, but her words finally managed to get Harry fully awake and shaking his head trying to hide the blush on his face.

"I don't…"

"Oh, don't even try that..." she rolled her eyes at him "I've come up with a plan".

It was time for Harry to roll his eyes at her this time. It was so like Hermione to have a plan for everything… She knew him better than anyone else, there was no use in denying the truth to her. She had always been capable of telling when he lied.

"Ok, I'm all ears..." he finally conceded.

"You know neither of us has ever been in a real relationship before…" Harry tried to speak and she interrupted him again "Before you say it, no. I've never had anything with Viktor."

"Nothing at all?" Harry teased enjoying how her cheeks turned red.

"Honestly, Harry; that's not the point right now" she cleared her throat before she started to speak again "I've been trying to get Ronald's attention but he seems blind around me" Harry didn't comment on the brief glimpse of hurt he saw in his best friend and she continued speaking "And Ginny seems to be surprisingly too busy with his new boyfriend to pay much attention to you… Apparently after all those years, she finally gave up".

Harry nodded acknowledging the depressing description of their love lives.

"So… as I told you, I've come up with a plan" she stopped looking at him right then, too concentrated in the fireplace to look him in the eyes.

For a long moment, she remained silent, trying to gather the courage to let the next words out. Where was that Gryffindor courage when she needed it?

"I know we are really close and everything… but I can't read your mind yet, Hermione" Harry tried to joke to get her attention back.

He saw her take another deep breath and somehow her face told him that she had been thinking about this a lot before telling him. Of course, Hermione always used to think a lot about everything, but he had a feeling that she had given this particular topic a lot of thought. Just when he was about to ask her to tell him her plan more directly, her brown eyes found his and she finally spoke.

"Harry, do you want to be my boyfriend?"

"What?" suddenly he was looking at her almost as if she had a baby dragon playing with her hair and she laughed.

"Not like that!" she laughed shaking her head "I mean… I don't want us to be together, _together_. I thought that if we pretended to be dating… well…"

"That's…" Harry took a second to consider her idea. After all, it wasn't _that_ crazy… They were best friends, he knew that half of the school was already waiting for the two of them to get together, and maybe she was right, maybe pretending to be with her would make Ron see what an idiot he had been. He was not so sure about Ginny, but he wanted to help his best friend "That actually sounds like a good idea..."

"Really?"

Harry didn't have a clue as to why something seemed to feel warmer in his chest when he saw the bright smile on Hermione's face. She had not been smiling a lot that week, he didn't know why, but he had missed her smile.

"Yes. It's good plan. We trust each other, we're friends… I don't see why it wouldn't work."

"I'm sure it'll work" she nodded and Harry shrugged, years had taught him to never contradict Hermione when she was _sure_ about something.

"When do you want to start?" he asked, somehow he was starting to find himself pretty excited about her plans. That smile of hers had the strange power to make him want to do anything she wanted.

"Well, we could start tomorrow if you want. I mean… I don't think we should make any kind of big announcement or any big display like Ron and Lavander did" for a second, hurt crossed her eyes again "I know how much you would hate that".

Harry nodded with relief, sometimes she knew him too well.

"Then what are you planning?"

"We should start acting differently. More like… you know, a couple. And then rumor will spread. In less than a week half of the wizarding world will be betting on the name of out kids" she joked.

"You know that's pretty much true, don't you?" Harry said, half laughing and half being serious. After all, she wasn't the type of girl who would want her love life discussed in the Daily Prophet.

"Probably some of them are already betting" she shrugged and Harry nodded accepting the truth of that statement.

"Ok, just don't say I didn't warn you…"

"I've been your best friend for six years, you know your fame never bothered me. You're just Harry. Harry who happens to be one of the most famous people in the wizarding world, but at the end of the day you're just my best friend" she smiled looking into his eyes "Or maybe I should say _boyfriend_ now" she laughed.

Harry laughed with her and one of his arms easily wrapped itself around her in a silent gesture that showed her how much those words had meant to him. He knew Hermione had always seen him for who he was, but to hear it like that made him feel incredibly lucky to have found a friend like her.

"You're the best girlfriend a guy could ask for" he smiled teasingly and she laughed a little "I mean it…" he said a little more seriously.

"And you're the best boyfriend a girl could hope for, Harry Potter" she said with a big smile and sparkling eyes. "You see? We'll be great at this."

"Now…" he looked back at his essay with a frown "Will you help your new boyfriend with his homework, Miss Granger?"

Hermione laughed at his pouting face and nodded.

Somehow, there was something that felt too right about laughing together. It was so easy, so comfortable…

"Ok, let me read it. I'll see if I can help you get this done so you can finally go to sleep. You look really tired…"

"Yes… tell me when you've finished reading" he mumbled letting his head rest against the couch and closing his eyes.

Hermione didn't say anything and let him rest. After all, he did look really tired.

After reading the essay, she realized that he had almost finished and had actually done a pretty good job. She was about to tell him so but when she turned to talk to him she discovered him absolutely asleep in what looked like a very uncomfortable sitting position.

She sighed and decided to let him sleep for a bit. After all, she was quite good at imitating his handwriting and she didn't mind writing the rest of that essay herself knowing that he had really done an effort and that he was too tired to continue.

It took her only a couple of minutes to finish writing and she was about to wake Harry when she saw him tense his body and mumble something impossible to understand. He hissed like he was in pain and suddenly Hermione understood what was going on his head. Another nightmare… Harry hardly ever spoke about that, but she knew how much he suffered when he was haunted by nightmares at night.

"Harry…" she whispered quietly, getting slowly closer to him to touch his chest "Harry, you're ok. It's just a dream…"

Hermione felt Harry's body relax a little and smiled. She knew she had to wake him and they both had to go back to their beds, but something in his sleeping face stopped her. She had never really had the chance to watch Harry sleeping and she had to admit that it was quite an amazing sight. All the worry, all the pain that was usually hiding in the back of his eyes seemed to be far away at that moment and he was just Harry. Hermione found herself admiring his relaxed features silently for an endless moment, since when had Harry's presence made her feel so at peace with the universe?

"Hermione?" asked the confused voice of Lavander Brown from the top of the stairs and Hermione flushed getting immediately away from her sleeping friend "What are you doing out bed?"

"I was… we were… um…" she mumbled and when she saw the excited grin in Lavander's face she suddenly realized that the situation actually was perfect to put her plan in motion. "Harry had something important to tell me" she smiled dreamily.

"And why is he asleep?" Lavander asked, hungry for details about what Hermione knew would be the greatest piece of gossip around the castle during breakfast the next morning.

"After we talked he said that he would stay with me while I finished doing my homework, he must have fallen asleep." Hermione lied without much thought and Lavander's eyes shone with excitement again.

"I knew there was something going on between the two of you! Wait until the others hear this!" she disappeared into the girl's dorm before Hermione could add anything else.

Of course, by breakfast there were new rumors about Harry and Hermione floating all over the great hall. Hermione could hardly manage to hide her smile which actually was good for their plan.

"Hey, I saved you a seat" Hermione smiled at Harry when she saw him enter the great hall without company.

"Good morning" he smiled back sitting next to her. They were one of the first Gryffindors to wake up that morning so they were strangely not surrounded by their friends. "Thank you" his smile grew in his face when he saw that she had already prepared a plate for him with his favorite breakfast.

She leaned in until she was close enough to whisper in his ear and said "That's very girlfriend-ish of me, isn't it?"

Harry let out a small laugh and dropped a small kiss in her forehead before she came back to her previous position. On the other end of the table, Hermione noticed Lavander and Parvati whispering excitedly.

"At this rate we'll make the front page by next week" Hermione joked catching her mail when an owl dropped it next to her.

"Next week?"

"Ok, maybe sooner" she laughed and started to read her copy of the Daily Prophet.

They enjoyed their breakfast together while the rest of their friends started to arrive. Ron sat with Lavander on the other end of the table but Dean, Seamus and Neville joined them. Ginny soon arrived too, and she took a seat next to his boyfriend while they chatted about quidditch and Hermione read the Prophet eating without paying much attention to their conversation.

The chat became pretty boring for Harry, who soon found himself watching his new "girlfriend" eat in absence of anything else to concentrate on. He smiled when he noticed the familiar expression that Hermione made whenever she was concentrated reading. Eventually, she took another sip of her drink and Harry smiled when he saw a few drops of it clinging to her lower lip, about to fall down her chin. In a second, he felt inexplicable and strongly attracted to her lips in a way he had never been before. He wanted to see if they were as soft as they looked… and suddenly, he remember that he actually _could_ touch her that way now. Maybe this pretended relationship had been a good idea in more than one sense.

Completely clueless, Hermione was surprised when she felt Harry's fingers touching her lips in a subtle caress, apparently wiping something from her mouth.

"What…" she mumbled but she fell silent when his shining green eyes locked with hers and a pair of matching big smiles cracked their faces.

"You had milk in your lips..." he explained and he pinched her cheek softly before letting his hand return to his previous position.

Hermione blushed slightly and nodded at him. Apparently Harry Potter was much better at this boyfriend-thing than she had expected…

"What's going on between the two of you?" asked a surprised Ginny watching them with a slight frown.

"We…" Hermione didn't know what to say. Her planning hadn't exactly included answering such a direct question to Ginny, and she hadn't discussed the topic with Harry so she didn't really know what to say.

"Isn't it obvious?" suddenly, Lavander Brown's voice surprised them from behind. She was holding Ron's hand and smiling while the young Weasley watched them with suspicion. "Harry asked Hermione to be his girlfriend last night".

A chorus of 'WHAT!'s filled the air around them and Hermione blushed deeper. She hadn't wanted to be caught in a situation like _that_ and by Harry's uncomfortable expression, she guessed that he wasn't very happy with the moment either.

They both remained silent for a few seconds, tension cracking the air, but finally Harry sighed and sent a reassuring look at Hermione. She couldn't believe it when she felt him wrap an arm around her and hug her to his chest allowing her to hide from the embarrassing situation.

"We didn't want you to find out like this, guys..." Harry played his part perfectly and everyone's reactions were legendary.

Dean threw his fist to the air in victory and Seamus cursed, accepting that he owed his roommate ten galleons. Neville congratulated them almost before Harry said the words and Lavander started to clap excitedly. Ron just stared at them in silence, almost as if he couldn't believe what was happening right in front of their eyes and finally Ginny spilled the tea she had been drinking in surprise.

"Are you two dating?" she almost shouted and Harry nodded while Hermione analyzed her reaction carefully from her hiding-place in Harry's arms.

"And neither of you thought that I would like to know something about it?" Ron finally asked with a look Harry had seen many times in his eyes. He was jealous of his best mate. Once again, he wanted something that Harry had. Hermione would be thrilled to hear what he had seen in Ron's eyes.

"It's not exactly as if you've been spending that much time with us lately, Ronald" it was Hermione who answered defiantly gesturing to Lavander and then it was Ron's turn to blush.

"But..."

"I don't have time for this. I'll be late for Ancient Runes. I have to go"

"I'll walk you to the classroom" Harry offered kindly.

"Harry, you don't have to..."

"I'm your boyfriend, aren't I?" he gave her a bright smile obtaining a few gasps from the people surrounding them and she smiled back, her cheeks turning to a whole new shade of red.

"Fine… Lead the way, Potter".

Harry got up and offered her his hand which she took without hesitation. They both left the great hall holding hands, leaving a very shocked group of people behind them.

Once they were away from the great hall, they broke into almost hysterical laughter together. Of course that had been uncomfortable, but some of their friend's reactions had been hilarious.

"Did you see their faces?" Harry laughed and she nodded.

"Harry, I'm sorry" she tried to take a deep breath to stop laughing "I didn't know they would force us into such an uncomfortable situation..."

"Hey… don't be sorry. We got what we wanted faster than we thought" he reminded her "This was your plan, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, I think you managed to convince them pretty well".

"I couldn't have done that if you hadn't hinted that to Lavander last night… There's a reason why they say you're the most brilliant witch of our age after all" he joked.

* * *

A few days after that, the whole castle was talking about Harry and Hermione's new status as a couple and they both were pretty satisfied with the small hints that Ron and Ginny were giving them. Apparently, neither Weasley liked the idea of them being together.

Holding hands had became a matter of habit more than pretending and Harry and Hermione had started to spend even more time together. Usually, they went to the lake together after class and walked holding hands, talking about everything. Those conversations and the increased physical aspect of their relationship resulted on a much closer friendship and nobody even dared to think that they were faking.

"Let's play a game…" Hermione suggested one afternoon when they were both sitting under a tree near the lake. He has lying against the tree with Hermione in his arms, her back resting against his chest. "Ten years from now, where are you?"

"I… I don't know" he frowned, surprised by her sudden question.

"That's the point, Harry. You have to imagine it. Don't think too much about it, just say the first thing that pops in your head…"

"Well… I'd like to have a home. You know, a real one… With big windows and a lot of sunlight. And the sound of laughter filling every room. I've never really thought about it before, but I guess I'd like to find someone to love. I'd like to find the kind of love my parents had… and that would eventually lead to a family… kids. It would be brilliant to wake up everyday in a house filled with people I love. And hopefully I'd be doing something to make our world better, end those stupid ideas about pureblood supremacy… I don't see myself in the Ministry, but I certainly would like to try and make our world a better place" he sighed "That is if I survive…"

"If _we_ survive, Harry" Hermione quickly corrected him and turned in his arms to face him.

"Hermione..." he tried to reason with her.

"No, don't even try it. I'm with you, until the very end… You're not facing him alone."

"You almost died the last time we fought together, there's no way I'm letting you put yourself in that kind of danger for me again."

"Well then it's a good thing I don't follow orders from you" she said seriously, looking deeply into his bright green eyes.

"I don't want to lose you" Harry admitted knowing that arguing with her had no point.

And there it was again. That strange connection they had been feeling whenever they looked each other in the eyes… That warm feeling in their skins where her hand made contact with his chest through the black robes…

"You'll never lose me" Hermione whispered with a small smile.

"Hermione… I…"

But the words died in his mouth when Hermione's soft lips made contact with his. For a second, they didn't move. Of course they had discussed kissing as part of their pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend plan, but people were so convinced by their constant and simple displays of affection that they hadn't needed to actually kiss in front of their friends to make a point.

The last coherent thought that crossed Harry's mind was how different from Cho's kiss this one was. Then he felt her lips moving against his, and he lost all kind of power to think straight. In no time, he was kissing her back. Their first kiss was soft and deep, passionate and loving and it overwhelmed them both with a feeling of rightness that shook their entire beings.

"What was that for?" asked Harry once they had to end the kiss because the need to breath was starting to become too difficult to ignore.

Their eyes were still closed, both were trying to catch their breaths and their foreheads here resting against each other's. During the kiss, Harry's arms had wrapped themselves around Hermione and her hands had found their way into Harry's hair which had ended up even messier than it usually was.

But before Hermione could answer, they heard two girls giggling and soon a small group of fouth and fifth year girls came into view. It wasn't difficult to figure out that they had been watching them for a while and now they were going to share their new piece of gossip with the rest of the school. Eventually, that would reach Ginny and Ron and their plan would continue flawlessly… It would have been the easiest thing in the world to convince herself that the only motive why she had kissed Harry was because of their plan, but she couldn't lie to herself so, when she answered Harry's question, she knew she was lying.

"It's all part of our plan" Hermione smiled and turned around again to avoid his eyes, going back to their previous position with her back resting against his chest.

Harry accepted his answer trying to ignore the strange flash of disappointment that crossed his mind.

"What about you?" he asked after a few minutes of silence in which both of their minds had been boiling with a thousand thoughts.

"What?" Hermione asked, confused.

"Ten years from now, where are you?" he repeated her question.

"Oh… that. I don't know, let me think".

"Just say the first thing that crosses your mind. Your rules, not mine" he reminded her and she laughed.

"Ten years from now…" she sighed "I'm happy. I'm resting in a peaceful beach in the south of France. Probably I have a Mastery and I'm working in some kind of investigation for the Department of Mysteries. But today in ten years I'm enjoying the weekend at the beach with my family."

"Your family?" Harry asked. He liked the way she was thinking so much that he wanted to hear more.

"Yes" she continued with a smile and her eyes closed. She could almost see the beach and feel the sun in her skin. "My family. I've found a man I love and we have a beautiful home with…" it took her a second to decide on the number "Two children. Actually, while we watch them play on the beach we are considering to try for a third baby" she smiled.

Hermione lost herself in her imagination, the idea of a future without fear and with a loving family of her own was one of the best fantasies she had ever had. She could almost feel the arms of the man she loved around her under the hot french sun, she could see her children laughing and running to show her something. She was so immersed in her daydream that could almost see the small boy in front of her. Messy brown hair, a wide mischievous smile, green eyes. He looked so much like…

"Harry…" she whispered in surprise snapping out of her daydream completely shocked by the turn her fantasy had taken.

"Yes?"

"I…" she shivered but it didn't have anything to do with the cold autumn breeze.

"Are you cold?" Harry asked holding her closer to his chest.

"Yes…" she lied shaking her head and trying to forget the strange images her mind had conjured. "I think we should go back to the castle".

"Yeah, it's getting late and we've already made our show today anyway" he smiled and got up to offer her a hand.

"I think we're making progress…" Hermione informed while she took his hand and they both started walking back to the castle. "I heard Lavander and Parvati talking about Ginny last night. Apparently she had a fight with Dean because he told her that since we're together all she does is trying to come up with ways to make us fight instead of paying attention to him. I think she forgot about his birthday".

"Good" was all Harry could manage to say "Ron's been acting strange around me since we told them we were together. Seamus and Dean tease him about being jealous of our relationship but he just yells at them and leaves the room. He's been in a bad mood ever since we started this".

They both smiled and kept talking about how at this rate, soon they would get Ginny's and Ron's attention for themselves as they had originally planned. But none of them wanted to recognize, not even to themselves, that the idea of starting a relationship with the younger Weasley siblings no longer seemed as appealing as it had been when they had started with their plan.

* * *

It had finally happened.

The only thing Hermione had vowed she would avoid at all costs had finally happened. The young witch had fallen in love with Harry Potter. She didn't know when her pretending to be in love with him had actually became real but she guessed that it had been at some point during their first walks holding hands around the lake, their now usual snogging sessions in a corner of the common room when almost all the students had already gone to bed and the endless talks they had shared during the last month they had spent together pretending to be boyfriend and girlfriend.

The witch had finally figured out that she was in love with Harry the previous day, when he had taken her to Hogsmade on a fake date. A fake date in which nothing had been fake for her. Not the way she held his hand while they walked through the streets of the village. Not the way she had kissed him back when he kissed her in a quiet corner of The Three Broomsticks. Not when she had hugged him and kissed him again after he went with her to the village's bookshop and bought her a collection of magical history books. And for a second, while he looked at her with those clear green eyes of his, she thought that just maybe, he had started to feel something for her too… But then her hope had shattered…

"We did it!" Harry told her with a wide grin on his face.

Of course that sharing a room with Lavander and Parvati, Hermione had already heard the news, but anyway she pretended to be excited and allowed Harry to tell her what he had discovered.

"Everyone is talking about it! Ginny broke up with Dean!"

"That's amazing, Harry" she tried to sound excited and smiled to him.

"And you haven't even heard the best part yet" he fell next to her and they both sat against the three near the lake just as they had done countless times during their fake relationship.

Hermione automatically leant into him and rested her head against his shoulder out of habit only to remember that they didn't need to do that anymore, but just when she was about to move, Harry wrapped an arm around her shoulders and continued his story.

"Seamus told me to keep away from the dorm at least until Dean's asleep tonight. He's mad at me right now, you know why?"

Obviously, she knew… All the school knew by now.

"Because Ginny told him that she loved me! That's why they broke up!" he held Hermione even closer, hugging excitedly "Hermione you're a genius! Your plan worked!"

With him hugging her against his chest, Hermione managed to congratulate him and pretend to be happy for him but his excitement over Ginny did nothing more than confirm her fears. He definitely didn't feel anything for her other than friendship.

"So… I guess it's time for the final act then" Hermione managed to say after a moment of silence.

"What are you talking about?"

"We'll have a fight in the Common Room. We'll hint that we're breaking up because you have feelings for Ginny and in less than a week you two will be together".

It was amazing how she was able to say those words without falling appart… but there would be a lot of time for tears later… Yes, she was going to put on quite the show…

"I hadn't thought about that… That's brilliant! but… we can't finish this yet".

"Why not?" she asked, trying to not get her hopes up.

"Because of you, of course. This plan was to get Ron's attention too after all".

"Oh… _that_. Don't worry about that, I've come to realize that my feelings for him were just a way to hide myself from the truth. I… I don't want that kind of relationship with him anymore".

"Really? Wait, what truth are you talking about?" he asked noticing something on her voice.

"Nothing, don't worry. Let's go, we have a final act to make, and then you and your princess will ride into the sunset" she got up trying to swallow the lump in her throat.

* * *

Hermione made a great job at holding herself together until they reached the Common Room but once they went through the portrait hole, she finally allowed the tears to take over and before Harry knew what was happening, she began to cry.

"I can't do this anymore Harry!" she said in front of all of their housemates, her face completely wet with the tears.

"Hermione…" Harry said confused and surprised at seeing her cry. He discovered that he didn't like the idea of her crying one bit and he unconsciously hugged her, trying to get the tears to stop.

"No, let me go" she cried getting away from him. "It's over… we're over".

"Hermione, please. I need to know you're ok… don't do this"

By this point, they had the attention of the entire Gryffindor house. Harry even noticed that Ginny was looking. That was exactly what they had wanted, but something about it felt extremely wong. Hermione's act felt too real. Breaking up with her, even when their whole relationship hadn't been real, was just too painful.

"I'm not ok!" she yelled this time and his heart broke "How do you want me to be ok? I love you Harry! I _love_ you and you want to be with her!"

A chorus of ahs and ohs filled the room but they didn't hear it. Hermione was too caught in her own pain to even know what she was saying and Harry was too overwhelmed by her to notice anything else.

Her voice sounded so hurt, her tears were so real… those words… He found himself holding her tightly against his chest before he could know what he was doing, all he wanted was to take that hurt off of her face. He couldn't stand to watch her cry.

"I love you too…" he said without thinking. "Please don't cry. We don't have to do this…"

Hermione shivered at his words and took a deep breath, taking in his scent and enjoying to be so close to him probably for the last time. She knew he couldn't be actually telling the truth. He was just shocked by her attitude… he was playing his part to perfection, just as he had from the first day they started pretending. He needed a public break up, she reminded herself, and one hell of a public break up she was going to give him.

"I can't do this anymore, Harry" she whispered looking into his eyes again, the tears making her brown eyes shine with sadness.

"Hermione…"

"Don't" she unwrapped herself from his arms and took a step away "You're free to go with her now if you want to… We're over" she repeated and, before Harrry or anyone in the common room could say anything, she disappeared crying up the stairs that led to the girl's dorms.

"Hermione!" Harry tried to call after her once again but it was too late.

He started to hear people starting to whisper around him but the only thing he couldn't make sense of anything. Hermione's act had looked like everything _but_ an act… Sure, she had promised him a public break up, a show… something to call Ginny's attention, but that had been too much. It had been so much that Harry had even believed it.

But could it be true? Could Hermione really love him? and if she did… how did _he_ feel about _that_? Seeing her cry had been one of the most horrible things that had happened to him, and all he wanted to do in that second was follow her up the stairs and kiss her until she forgot all about why she was crying. He wanted to hold her against his chest and make her laugh, he wanted to be with her, make sure she was allright, he wanted to bloody lose himself in her for all eternity. But did he _love_ her?

He had been so scared that afternoon a few weeks before when she had spoken about a beach and a family, but he had found himself wanting something similar. Something too similar to be comfortable with it… that night, he had dreamed about a quiet and beautiful beach, with a gorgeous woman in his arms and with a little girl with Hermione's messy brown curls and shining green eyes…

What if… what if he actually _loved_ her? After all, pretending to be his boyfriend had been awfully easy, everything from holding hands to talking for hours had been amazing, not to mention those snogging sessions next to the fireplace, or a few stolen kisses they had shared around the castle. All those things had felt so natural… And now he was standing alone in the common room, surrounded by people whispering about the scene they had just witnessed and Hermione was in her bed, she had left crying and all he wanted was to know if she was ok. He _needed_ to know if she was ok.

"Hey mate, you look pretty shaken up… Let's go to the dorm, you should…" it was Ron's voice. His friend was trying to get him out of there, the whispering was starting to become too much to remain there.

"I need to see her" Harry managed to let out a coherent phrase. "I have to fix this, I need to make sure she's ok".

"Don't worry mate, Lavander's just went up to check on her. Now you need to get out of here. Hermione will be ok. You two will fix this tomorrow".

He nodded and followed ron, the common room immediately exploded with voices once he left.

* * *

Neither Harry or Hermione were at Gryffindor table for dinner that night but every single conversation across the great hall was about them. Once everyone had left for dinner, Harry hid under his invisibility cloak and found a spot to sit in the common room. He had decided that he would wait for her.

And so there he was. Alone and invisible in the middle of the night. Staring at the stairs as if with his look he could somehow make Hermione appear on top of them.

Suddenly, the idea of being with Ginny wasn't so attractive anymore, not when he couldn't get Hermione's words out if his mind. She had told him that she loved him, and he had said he loved her back. Had she only been acting? He knew his words had been sincere… after saying it, it was obvious that he loved her. How could he not? But what kind of love was it?

He was immersed in those thoughts, when finally someone appeared at the top of the stairs. And it wasn't just someone. It was her.

"Hermione" he said taking the invisibility cloak off as soon as she stepped into the common room.

"Harry…" she whispered surprised.

His heart broke when he saw her. Her eyes were red and puffy, she looked the saddest he had ever seen her, she still had marks of tears staining her beautiful face and there was something about the way she walked that just didn't seem her. She looked so broken that Harry could not help himself and he walked the few steps that separated them to hug her.

"Never do that to me again" Harry said holding her against his chest as tightly as he could.

"I hated every second of it" Hermione mumbled holding onto him "I'm sorry, that was a terrible idea".

"Hermione…" he pulled her away carefully and looked into her eyes "I need to know how much of it was true".

"Harry, please… don't make me do this. Let's just put this behind us and go back to the way things used to be. This was a terrible idea… just let it go"

"Hermione, I'm your best friend. I can tell when you're lying. I need to know what part of all that was true. I don't want to pretend anymore".

She stood silent for a moment and then sighed. There was no way she could lie to him… not anymore.

"I'm sorry…" she began, tears starting to pool in her eyes again "I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen… I don't even know when it did but…" she took a deep breath before she let the words out "I'm in love with you Harry" she admitted with tears in his eyes.

She kept speaking after that, an endless string of apologies and some crap about forgetting everything and going back to being friends but Harry had stopped listening after those words.

She not only loved him, she was _in love_ with him…

She had been speaking for almost an entire minute without stop when the words finally made sense in Harry's mind. And there was only one possible answer.

Without even pretending to pay attention to what she had been saying after telling him that she was in love with him, Harry took her in his arms and smashed his lips into hers.

It took her a whole moment to react, too stunned by the unexpected kiss to do anything at first but finally she wrapped her arms around his neck and she kissed him back with everything she had. Their kiss was desperate at first but slowly it became softer and even more charged with feelings. They lost themselves in the moment and when they finally had to pull away to breath both of them felt dizzy and overwhelmed by what felt like a hurricane of feelings.

"What… what was that for?" she asked trying to catch her breath.

"Because I love you, Hermione Granger" he whispered against her lips "Because I hated to see you cry, because as soon as you went up those stairs all I wanted to do was go after you and make sure that you were ok, because I'm an idiot for not having seen this before…"

"I… I…" she tried to speak but her voice was broken by the tears once again.

"No, no, no, no. Please don't cry again. Haven't I just told you how much I hate it?"

She shook her head and swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Happy tears" was all she could manage to say before their lips met again.

It felt so good to not pretend anymore…

"What… what about Ginny?" she asked between kisses.

"I want you" Harry said without hesitation "I want to hold your hand and kiss you whenever I want to, I want to be with you without pretending, I want you to be there by my side when I defeat Voldemort and then I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want it all, I want the beach and the little girl with brown messy hair and green eyes… I want you, forever".

"I'm sorry but you're gonna have to get used to me crying if you intend to keep saying things like that…" Hermione said between tears and kissed him again, and again, and again. "I love you, Harry James Potter".

Harry smiled and kissed her one more time before he hugged her and just held her for a long while.

"Hermione?" he broke the silence after a few minutes.

"Yes?"

"I love you too" he whispered and they both smiled again.

"I've never thought I'd be so glad that one of my plans didn't work out the way I wanted it to…" she said and they laughed together, their laughs joining to create a magical melody, a sound that would become one of the most common ones to hear around the pair.


End file.
